Shinigami Shinobi Clash
by angelic lily
Summary: Narutoxbleach crossover. i just wanted to try it. when hollows start to appear in naruto's world, soul society OF COURSE sends shinigami to handle the situation. but could they possibly cause more harm? ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Okay everyone, this is AN EXPERIMENT! I repeat, an EXPERIMENT. I just noticed that there weren't a lot of bleach crossovers, so I decided to write one and because it's an experiment, it's short so tell me if this sux or if u love it. If it sux, ill delete it rite away. If u love it, tell me how to improve and stuff **

**Also, I'm very sorry the beginning is mostly naruto.**

**Thank u!**

"Old hag, why'd you call us? I missed my ramen!"

A fist collided with Naruto's head. "I told you to don't call me that! Show some respect to the Hokage."

Sasuke snorted, Sakura just rolled her eyes, and Kakashi just continued reading his perverted little book (with a few giggles here and there). Sasuke was now stable, after a long quest to rescue him. Or as stable as anyone who was exposed to Orochimaru could be. (AN: in case ur wondering, this is during the second part of the manga with my imaginary sasuke ) He watched Tsunade with his onyx eyes, waiting. Sakura quickly shut Naruto's whining up with another punch. Kakashi finally looked up from his Icha Icha Paradise.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "As you all know, there have been some… occurrences in Konoha in the past few days." Sakura nodded meaningfully. All those monsters… with their white masks and unearthly cries. She shuddered at the thought. "Actually… I've been meaning to ask a question," she voiced, "What _are_ those things?" Tsunade nodded and drank from her cup. "I would explain, but I have brought some people who will explain it better. They'll also be helping to control the situation." Sasuke raised on eyebrow. Who on earth could possibly know about those _things_? Kakashi was a similar skeptic. "But Tsunade-sama, wasn't there a confirmation that no one in Konoha or any other village knew of these monsters?"

The Fifth Hokage opened her mouth to speak when a crash sounded from the waiting room outside. It was followed by complete silence. Then they could hear some talking:

"Renji you idiot! Now what are we going to do!"

"Shut up Ichigo! It wasn't my fault! If you hadn't been so STUPID as to knock me over, this wouldn't have happened!"

"So it's my fault? It's your fault for starting the argument with the 'I'm sure you'll fit right in here with all these freaks' talk!"

"Ichigo! Renji! Be quiet! But Ichigo, it is true. They don't seem to care about hair colors."

"You stay out of this Rukia! And shut the hell up about my hair! It's as natural as Renji's freaky eyebrows!"

"Why do you have to use my eyebrows as an example! And what's wrong with them? They're perfectly normal!"

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror recently?"

"All of you, SHUT UP."

"Sorry Hitsugaya-taichou. But it really is Ichigo's fault."

"Sorr- hey, what?"

"Taichou, I think we're being a bit loud."

"Well it's no fault of mine Matsumoto. If those two idiots over there could just keep to themselves, it wouldn't be so loud. And by the way, you're fixing the damage. Also, this is coming out of your paycheck Abarai."

"Yes sir."

The shinobi sat in curiousity and fear. What creatures could possibly cause that much havoc in a waiting room? And how much damage was done really?

At the moment, a shy girl with a clipboard opened the door. "Ano… Tsunade-sama, the… representatives are here." She squeaked as another crash was heard. Sakura was sure there couldn't be THAT many things to destroy in the waiting room. The door momentarily shut to open again. The team seven's eyes widened.

"Team seven, meet the shinigami."

**Okay, so tell me, how was it? Hate it? Want to destroy it with a mega-gun so it can never be read again? Or love it? Tell me! And also suggest who should be the 'representatives' from soul society other than the obvious ppl in the first chapter (ichigo, renji, rukia, hitsugaya, matsumoto) review greatly appreciated!**

**And did I mention this is my first bleach fic?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for those supporters! Now here's the second part of the fic! I hope it doesn't disappoint. Also, a note: the shinigami don't have their gigai. Shinobi can see them because they have high chakra. O ya, n in here, chakra kinda equals spiritual energy.**

**I don't own bleach. But one can dream **

The first one to come in was a kid. Yes, a kid. The only thing weird about that was he had shocking white hair that was in spikes. Who knew if that was natural. His piercing green eyes found Tsunade quickly. "I assume you're the Fifth Hokage?" He stepped forward so that the light fell more directly on him.

Sakura took all the details in of the foreigner. He was wearing a shihakusho with a white haori on top. She noticed the number ten on the back, partially covered by a long sword that was strapped onto his back. She also took time to notice that he was quite short. About four feet. She assumed he looked about twelve or so. But his bored expression and eyes said that he was probably much older. His zouri didn't make any sound as he stepped forward to Tsunade's desk. "First of all, I apologize for the damage done in the waiting room." He shot a death glare to some unseen person behind the door. The shinobi could all feel the fear of this unfortunate person. "My subordinates will fix it right away." He quickly turned back to Tsunade. "Do you need everyone in the room to explain the situation?" Tsunade took another drink from her cup (which seemed suspiciously like sake) and nodded. The young captain signaled with his head to the rest of his party behind the door. Quickly, the door opened wider with a bang to admit four more people.

The first was a tall redhead also wearing a shihakusho. He swaggered in, his wild ponytail swinging slightly. The white bandana he was wearing to 'cover' his eyebrows hardly hid anything. All could plainly see the strange tattooed eyebrows. They also noticed tattoos peeking out of the collar.

The second was a great contrast to the first one. She was a petite girl, with big violet eyes and swallow tail style hair. Sakura decided she was the only normal looking one so far.

The next was a tall feminine beauty. Her long strawberry blond tresses fell to her waist and her clear blue eyes seemed amused in every way. Also, she had 'assets' that could rival Tsunade's. Her revealing shihakusho didn't help to hide these either. She seemed to pose just beside the door as she paused, her pink scarf and all. Or maybe it was just the way she looked, all glitter and celebrity like.

The last one to come in was also tall and masculine like the red head, but lacked the gangster air that Renji had. Just more of a tough guy. His orange hair was in a bit of stylish mess, and his face seemed to be stuck in a permanent frown. All of the shinobi in the room stared at the giant sword on his back. Sure all of these people had swords, but he was the only one that had a MASSIVE one. Sakura blinked. Sasuke blinked. Kakashi blinked. Naruto blinked then said what was on everyone's minds. "That's a huge ass sword."

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. Such ignorant people. He surveyed the crack on the wall the door had made as it opened. He looked at Renji who was the first to come in. "This is coming out of your paycheck as well." The red head looked down and mumbled a 'yes sir' before cursing a certain stupid genius (AN: HA! That's an oxymoron!) shinigami.

Tsunade cleared her throat again. Maybe it was all the sake she was drinking, who knows. "Let me introduce you to the people in the room." She gestured to the white-haired shinigami. "This is Hitsugaya Toushirou, captain of the 10th squad in the Gotei 13. Next to him, Abarai Renji, lieutenant of the 6th squad of Gotei 13. Then, Kuchiki Rukia of the 13th squad; Matsumoto Rangiku, lieutenant of the 10th squad, and Kurosaki Ichigo, a shinigami representative."

Naruto scratched his head. "What's a shinigami?"

--------

"So… you are all from a place called Soul Society, where souls go after they die." Sakura said.

"And there are thirteen divisions there, consisting of captains and other seated members. A kind of military organization." Sasuke continued.

"And your duty is to kill Hollows… bad souls… and ensure the safety of the good souls. Right…" Kakashi nodded after speaking.

"So… you guys are all dead?" Naruto asked bluntly. Hitsugaya sighed. This kid was giving him a headache. "For the last time, YES AND NO. We are souls, so technically we are, but we are supposed to be 'death gods', a level above ordinary souls." Naruto nodded thoughtfully at Hitsugaya's explanation. "So… you guys are dead, right?" Hitsugaya rubbed his temple in frustration. This Naruto was annoying him very much. The temperature dropped about five degrees. Sakura shivered. What was going on? She hoped the heater wasn't broken. She looked to see the red head blanch a little. She assumed this drop in temperature was definitely a bad, non-coincidental sign. Tsunade was currently out of the room, complaining of a headache. Sakura was sure it was sake.

Naruto was once again posing random questions. The strawberry blond, Rangiku, was blanking out, playing with her scarf. Ichigo, Renji, and Rukia were having a 'silent argument', consisting of elbowing each other in the ribs. Hitsugaya looked like he was going to pop a vein. Kakashi's attention had strayed to his little book again. Sasuke looked just as bored with this whole situation. Sakura sighed. She wanted badly to tell Naruto to shut up. Maybe she should.

"You know, some people understand this much better. People with brains in their head." Hitsugaya commented tiredly. It was about his twentieth time explaining this to the blond, and he was fed up with the questions. Naruto immediately went into his berserk arguing mode. "Are you saying I'm stupid?" Hitsugaya glanced at him. "Maybe."

The blond shinobi tried to jump the short captain, who easily side-stepped it. The blonde growled in annoyance. "You should be respectful to your elders; I'm way older than you!" Hitsugaya raised a snowy eyebrow. "On the contrary, _I_ am older than _you_." Naruto frowned. "No you're not. I'm sixteen. You're just a twelve year old kid."

There was a hushed silence in the shinigami group. All the shinigami froze. The shinobi had said the forbidden word. Kid.

"Did you say… kid?"

The room went deathly cold. It wasn't even the mildly air-conditioned room anymore. It was more like they were stuck in a giant freezer. Sasuke looked at the captain with new interest. His sharingan showed a steady trickle of chakra coming from him, as if he was using a jutsu. But he had seen no hand seals or such. _Interesting…is this a no hand seal jutsu? Do those even exist?_

Naruto was starting to regret his outburst now. "Hey… kid… um… let's talk about this." Now he had said it TWICE. He wasn't going to live. He yelped as he noticed his sandals had stuck to the floor from the cold. Kakashi frowned as he noticed icicles forming on his precious volume.

Luckily, it just happened to be Naruto's lucky day.

"Taichou! A Hollow!"

Hitsugaya turned to the window just as Rukia finished chanting 'Hadou 31: Shakkahou'. The strong red ball broke through the window and hit the Hollow dead on. It disappeared before it could even react. At the same time, Hitsugaya sensed new reiatsu. _Damn it._ "Oi, you guys," everyone in the room turned, "They're here already, so I'll be going ahead to pick them up. You know what to do with the Hollows." He shunpoed out of the room. Tsunade opened the door to the office. "What's going on?" She looked to see a group of amazed shinobi staring at a broken window while the shinigami were preparing to go out. _Honestly, everything happens when I have a headache_, she thought.

Renji turned towards Tsunade's direction. "We're just going to get rid of the Hollows. And the Taichou will be coming back soon with some more shinigami." With that, all the shinigami ran out into the streets of Konoha. Naruto, still awestruck, shook his head to snap out of it. "Come on! We're the shinobis of Konoha! We're going too." The rest of the team nodded and also left. Now there was only Tsunade left in the room, holding her head in her hands. This headache was killing her. She wondered if she should stop drinking, then everything WON'T happen when she's drunk, because she wouldn't be drunk in the first place. She stood there contemplating for a few seconds. _Nah._

---------

"Hoeru! Zambimaru!"

Renji cut through yet another Hollow. _Damn it, they just keep coming!_ Ichigo landed near Renji after cutting through a Hollow. "Where are all these coming from? It's like they're attracted to something!" He stabbed upwards at an approaching Hollow. "Shit, this isn't even exercise." From a few block down, they could hear Rukia blasting Hollows with kidou. Matsumoto was hopping from building to building, slashing here and there. It all wasn't helping. They were coming faster than before, and the screaming civilians didn't make this better.

"Yo. Ichigo. Look."

Ichigo looked up to where Renji was pointing. The blonde shinobi, Naruto, was trying his best to avoid getting cut by a Hollow. Ichigo sighed. "We better go up there." But before they could, Naruto performed some quick hand seals. The two shinigami watched, curious. "Kage Bunshin!" And just like that, hundreds of Naruto surrounded the Hollow. Ichigo gaped. "Renji! What is that!" He had seen a few kidous, but they weren't anything like this. Renji was equally awestruck. "I… I don't know. I haven't seen it before. But it's a hell of a lot useful!" They continued watching the bunshins tackle the Hollow. Ichigo frown deepened when he realized they weren't THAT useful. As soon as they got hit, they would disappear with a 'poof'. Sure they did some damage, but not as much as a zanpakutou could do.

Naruto was panting now. He had done most of his best techniques, but they didn't seem to be doing any damage. _Damn it to hell!_ He thought. He prepared himself. _Stupid fox! Lend me some chakra!_ Unfortunately, the Hollow wasn't in a mood to wait. With its huge, cruelly shaped claw, it lunged at Naruto. His eyes watched as it came closer. _Shit, I can't dodge now!_ He closed his eyes, ready for the impact. But it never came (AN: ya, that's a really clichéd line).

"You alright?" He looked up to see the orange-haired shinigami, standing there casually with his giant sword swung over his back. Naruto stood up quickly, looking around for the Hollow. It was gone. He scowled; annoyed that he had been saved. "Yeah. Sure." Ichigo just nodded. "Good. Just watch out for them. They can't be easily defeated with normal fighting techniques, or your weird one at that." Naruto frowned. "Weird? IT'S AWESOME! It's my BEST technique! How dare you call it weird!" Renji landed beside Ichigo. "Yo, what's this kid yelling about?" Naruto hyped up even more. "Hey! I'm not a kid! I'm sixteen! Sixteen I tell you!" Ichigo leaned down. "Sixteen? You're a little short for a sixteen year old." (AN: I'm assuming Naruto is shorter than Ichigo. Please tell me if this is true or not.) "No I'm not! I grew a lot!" Renji also leaned down. "So how tall were you before, kid? Six inches?" Naruto turned red with rage. "NO! SHUT UP FREAKY EYEBROWS!" Renji twitched. Ichigo smirked. "Even the kid thinks your eyebrows are weird." Renji twitched. Then exploded.

"MY EYEBROWS ARE PERFECTLY NORMAL! WHY DOES EVERYONE TALK ABOUT THEM LIKE THEY'RE WEIRD!"

"Because they are Renji. By the way you guys, the Hollows are gone."

Ichigo, Renji, and Naruto turned to see Rukia, Sasuke, Sakura and Matsumoto standing a few feet off, waiting for their argument to finish. Sasuke was looking seriously pissed off, while Sakura seemed to be in deep thought. Matsumoto yawned. "Come on morons; let's go back to the Hokage's office. Taichou might be back by now." All of them followed Matsumoto, a few still teasing Renji, and one fuming about 'normal' eyebrows.

--------

"KEN-CHAN!"

Zaraki Kenpachi shifted. "What?"

"I think I see shorty captain coming! See? Over there!"

And indeed, the 'shorty captain' was coming to them, moving from rooftop to rooftop. "Huh. You're right. I was just getting bored too." Zaraki turned to the shinigami behind him. "Yo. Shunsui. He's finally here." The lazy shinigami raised his straw hat slightly, still lying down on the ledge of the roof. "Ah… already? But I was just falling asleep… it's too bad. Nanao-channn, let's get going now... Maybe they'll let us have a room between us, ne?" The lieutenant did her classic 'scary eyeglass flash' before hitting her captain on the head with her clipboard. "Of course taichou." Leaving her captain to rub his newly lumpy head, she addressed the other captain beside her. "Ukitake-taichou?" The kind captain smiled. "Ready fukutaichou."

**So? Did I disappoint you? How was it? I'll be updating very fast again soon I really hope everyone enjoys :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Major spoiler in this one for ppl who aren't on the latest of the bleach manga! Also, for the person who disagreed with zaraki being here, I mean come on; you just can't resist putting him in here! Also, I think personally that he's funny…. Come on… anyone? silence never mind. **

"It seems like it's another successful job done for Aizen-taichou…"

Tousen watched as the sky began to shut around him. "Ah, well that ain't no good. Tousen! You ain't making this sound so happy!" Tousen turned his blind eyes onto his companion, Ichimaru Gin. (AN: I'm SO sorry… I'm not very familiar with gin's character except that he's psychotic) "… that is the road of justice." Gin's smile didn't decrease. "Is that really…" His smile broadened as he looked to the scene of Konoha below, just before the sky closed completely. "I do 'ope they ain't gonna be rejecting our gift none…"

--------

Sasuke was pissed off/annoyed. He was annoyed, because a certain petite GIRL shinigami had defeated the Hollow FOR him. He was pissed off because he had nearly broken his arm TRYING to defeat the Hollow. Yes, it was wise not to talk to Sasuke right now.

Sakura meanwhile, was healing her minor wounds. She had succeeded in making giant craters all around Konoha, but had really defeated only one Hollow. She looked at the dozing shinigami, Matsumoto, who had defeated a number of them with ease. _How can they defeat them so easily? _She stared at the sword that was attached to Matsumoto's waist. _Could it have anything to do with those swords?_ Sakura noticed Matsumoto was already almost asleep now (AN: im sorry to all those matsumoto lovers that all she does is sleep it's just that im not that comfortable with matsumoto. SORRY!). Sakura was tempted to observe the sword more carefully, meaning that she wanted to grab it and swing it around for a bit. Her hand twitched. No, she shouldn't because it wasn't right… you don't touch someone's weapon when they're asleep, only when they give you permission.

"Do you want to see our zanpakutous?"

Sakura jumped, startled. Rukia was smiling at her, holding out her sword to Sakura. Sakura looked down at the long sword with its red hilt and beautifully carved guard pointed to her. She smiled back gratefully. "Thank you."

Sakura marveled at the skill of the maker. It was truly lovely. Sakura looked at Rukia again, her hand itching to pull the sword out. "May… I?" Rukia blinked, then smiled again. "Of course, but not all the way." Sakura nodded and pulled about an inch or two of it out. It was so polished that she could see her own reflection. "It's beautiful…" Sakura turned it this way and that, even observing the sheath.

"Its name is Sode no Shirayuki." (AN: major spoiler here for ppl who haven't read the recent chapters of the manga)

Sakura blinked. "Pardon?" Rukia blinked, also surprised. "Its name… my zanpakutou's name." Sakura looked at the sword again. They gave swords _names_? "I… see." Sakura handed Rukia back her zanpakutous. _And they call them 'soul slayers'… why though? Are these specially designed swords for shinigami only?_

She turned her attention to Sasuke, not having anything else to look at (AN: LOL). He was brooding. Was this particular defeat that much for him? (AN: geesh… Sakura keeps asking redundant questions)

_Sasuke's flashback_

_Sasuke cursed silently. His sharingan could help him predict the movements of these Hollows, but they didn't help much in the key to their defeat. The most he had done so far was dodging. He skidded to a halt and performed a few quick hand seals. _

"_Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"_

_He smirked as the Hollow was surrounded by fire. Let's see that get through his fire. And he did see it go through the fire. _

_If he wasn't so uptight, Sasuke would have openly gaped. The fire had done hardly any harm. Oh sure, he had burnt it badly, so that it looked like it had been in a giant barbecue. Oh sure, it was limping badly, but the point was, IT WASN'T DEAD. He cursed again, dodging an oddly shaped tentacle. It had just barely missed his arm._

"_Hadou 31: Shakkahou!"_

_A blast of miniscule (in Sasuke's opinion) size hit the Hollow on the side, causing it to turn around to its new attacker. Rukia stood her ground poised and ready for another round of fire. The Hollow hissed. 'How dare you…' Sasuke raised his eyebrow. It speaks, he thought. The Hollow let loose its set of tentacles, causing Rukia to jump to avoid. However, she was still in her original position. _

"_Hadou 31! Shakkahou!"_

_This time, it hit the Hollow on its mask. With a cry of rage, it disappeared from where it stood. Sasuke punched the ground (AN: yes this is Sasuke over-angsting, if that word exists). He couldn't defeat it, but this girl could! It dug into his conscious. He had to train even harder. To make it even worse the girl came to him, with a look only guys could have after they defeated someone else's opponent._

"_You okay?"_

_End of Flashback_

In fact, Sasuke was sure that he couldn't suffer a more embarrassing defeat. It was _humiliating_. Even more so then the fact that he was with Orochimaru. His nails dug into the couch, and by the sound of it, he had squeezed the springs to death with his other hand. "Ano… Sasuke-kun, are you hurt?" Sasuke looked at Sakura as if she had interrupted him from the most important thing on earth. "No." Sakura looked down. "Oh."

The door opened to admit Naruto, Renji, and Ichigo, who had left to get some lunch. Naruto was looking extremely satisfied, so Sakura guessed that he had had ramen. Renji and Ichigo looked pretty happy too. Well, ramen could satisfy anyone to a point. Matsumoto yawned for the millionth time that day. "Taichou is still not back?" Renji shook his head. Matsumoto resumed half lying half sitting on the couch. But her mind wasn't as relaxed as she was. _I have to tell him… I sensed Gin's reiatsu before…_ She sighed. Why had he left? Why had he chosen to help Gin? Of course, she didn't pretend she knew everything about him, but at least she had thought that he was loyal to Soul Society. "Baka…"

"Who is it this time Matsumoto?"

Matsumoto yelped and jumped up, causing her ample 'assets' to jump with her. She caught them just before they could expose themselves. (AN: Yes, just like that time in episode 63) "Taichou! Don't do that! They could have gone out!"

Hitsugaya raised his eyebrow (AN: there's a lot of eyebrow raising, isn't there? LoL). "Who?" Matsumoto pointed to her chest without shame. "My boobs…" Hitsugaya sighed. "Well not my fault. If you hadn't been dozing, you would have sensed me." Hitsugaya proceeded to talk with the rest of the group. "Abarai. Kurosaki. Kuchiki. They're here." Right on cue, the door to Tsunade's waiting room opened.

The first one to come in was none other than the 13th division captain. "Ukitake-taichou!" Rukia exclaimed, obviously surprised. The captain smiled. "How are you Kuchiki?" The next was Kyouraku Shunsui, accompanied by his 'Nanao-chan'. "Eh? Kyouraku-taichou!" Shunsui took off his straw hat. "Abarai-fukutaichou! Not happy to see me?" Abarai just mumbled something about being happy to see him. He was just glad to see that his royal stick-up his ass highness Kuchiki-taichou wasn't here. He shuddered being under his cold command all the way over HERE too.

"HEY! FREAKY EYEBROWS IS HERE TOO!"

Yes, it was Kusajika Yachiru, the terror of the 11th division. "YOU!" Ichigo pointed. Yachiru just stared back in her cute innocent way. "THAT MEANS THAT-"

"Ichigo… I see that you are well."

Ichigo turned around slowly to the door. The maniac smiled devilishly to him. "Then let us fight!" Ichigo blanched as the giant captain lunged at him, his zanpakutou ready. It was to our orange-haired shinigami's relief that Hitsugaya jumped in between.

"No fighting."

Zaraki jumped back, not expecting the little captain to jump between. "Then I'll just fight you too!" He started running to Hitsugaya while Sakura looked on, horrified. _They can't fight here!_ But she needn't worry. Hitsugaya just smirked his cocky way. Then in a flash, he was poised and ready to do kidou. "Bakudou 75: Gochuu Tekan!" Surprised, Zaraki fell onto his back with his limbs bound.

"The hell!" Zaraki struggled, but could not come lose "Damn brat!" He crawled around pathetically like a snail. Hitsugaya snorted. He couldn't even see such a simple binding spell coming and he called himself a captain. Yachiru immediately came over. "Ah! Ken-chan! Are you okay?" She turned to the young captain and blew a raspberry. "Shorty captain is mean!" _Short! Speak for yourself…_ Hitsugaya thought. Kyouraku just sighed. "Ah well… I think you should unbind him Hitsugaya-kun… We can't really have a diplomatic talk with this Hokage with him cursing like this." Hitsugaya remained stoic. "After he stops swearing." which was his way of saying never. Ukitake laughed awkwardly. "Well it better be soon! Because I think she's coming." Through the entire racket, Ukitake had heard the click of high heels coming to the waiting door. Tsunade opened the door angrily, surveying the damage done by Renji and Ichigo from before, and the current one done by Zaraki. "WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?"

---------

"As before, we apologize for the damage. We'll be paying for the repairs and replacements of course." Ukitake said. Tsunade merely sat at her desk, looking annoyed. "That is fine Ukitake-taichou. I'm sure they didn't mean it…" She glared at Renji and Ichigo, then at Zaraki. "Well, Tsunade-sama, have our earlier representatives explained the situation already?" Tsunade nodded. "They did, but I think we need some more background history." Ukitake smiled in understanding. "Of course."

Rukia's hand shot up. "I could do it taichou. I've done it before with Ichigo." She had already prepared a notebook and markers. "I don't think you should Rukia. I mean, your bad drawings just confused me the first time you did it." Ichigo responded. Rukia's notebook was immediately plastered onto Ichigo's head. The consequences of telling the truth. Ukitake chose to ignore this little conversation and looked around for a suitable candidate. Finding none, he chose himself. He cleared his throat. "Hm… to start, Hollows are… impure souls." Hitsugaya interrupted Ukitake. "We've already covered this with them Ukitake-taichou." Ukitake blinked. "Oh. I see." He paused for a moment, trying to decide where to start. Then he began again. "So you see we might suspect that this has to do with Aizen Sousu-"

"Ano… Ukitake-taichou." Ukitake turned to Rukia. "That's too far ahead…" Ukitake blinked again. "Oh. I see." He contemplated again, and decided where to start. "Well then, we're from a place called Soul Society-" He was interrupted again. "Ukitake-taichou," Renji said, "that's already been said." Ukitake this time didn't even say anything.

"Currently, we've suffered a big crisis due to the betrayal of-"

"That's too far."

"Soul Society is a bit of a military org-"

"Already been said."

"Along with Aizen, Ichima-"

"Too far ahead." (insert background of confused shinobi here)

Ukitake paused. "How about one of the first shinigami that came here explain it?" All of them nudged Hitsugaya. "Ah… well… just when the ryoka had come to rescue Kuchiki here, we realized that Aizen was a traitor, along with Ichimaru and Tousen. He was really allying with the Hollows, planning to take over the two worlds. So, now with the attacks done on the village here, we suspect it's all his work." The shinobi all acknowledged this new information. Ukitake had a sweat drop on his head. He was only missing the fact that the ryoka had rescued Kuchiki! And they had all badgered him, saying he was too far ahead! He was only one fact too far! He sighed. Ah, the trials of being a late comer.

Kyaouraku just patted his friend's back. "Ah… not your fault Jyoushirou, we're just getting old." Ukitake smiled. "Perhaps we are."

With more random loud conversations and 'repairing' of the waiting room at the request of Hitsugaya, the shinigami were shown to their quarters. They were all to stay in a local hotel close to the Hokage's office. Ah, the damage they could do to such an innocent building…

The office door shut with bang, compliments of Renji. Tsunade flinched. One day, she would punch a hole into that shinigami's skull. She didn't give a damn if it was politically correct or not. It was important that she got her own share of comfort too. She put her feet up on her desk casually. All these events occurring were just an excuse for a GIANT Konoha-sized headache. She thought back to when it all started, only a week ago.

_Tsunade's flashback_

_All the strange creatures had been defeated with minimal casualties. Also, all of shinobi had only sustained minor injuries. Tsunade was relieved. She stood up from healing a chuunin with a twisted ankle. It was really a miracle that they could all defeat them, even if they were at a disadvantage._

_Sakura immediately came up to her teacher, reporting the number of casualties and the number of treatments made. Tsunade nodded and thanked her. She paused to think about how much their great strength had helped them. The monsters didn't die right away after getting hit, but it did affect them._

"_Tsunade-sama!" She turned to Gai, who was holding something in his hand. She observed the object. She recognized it as the material the monsters' masks were made of. She touched it, then drew back, sensing an uneasy aura from it. "Should we keep it?" Tsunade nodded. "Of course. This is valuable resource to us." Gai disappeared with a poof, leaving to give the research group this new information (AN: I have no idea if a research group exists. It's purely my imagination)_

_--------_

_After clearing up all the political and technical things, Tsunade reveled in the warm tea on her desk. Finally, a break from all the uproar. She only hoped that it was a minor project of Orochimaru's gone wrong, or an experiment of the Akatsuki. She took a deep drinking from the cup. Milk tea could do wonders._

_But, it seemed like the day wasn't done tormenting her. Right where her door had stood, it was replaced by a traditional Japanese door (AN: I forgot what they're called ). It opened, emitting a bright light into the office. 'If this is a punishment from gambling… I'm sorry. Partially' she thought. Instead of some demon as she had expected, she stared as a few black moths flew out. 'Moths…?'_

_Of course, that wasn't the end of the show. Two figures came into the view. The first was a long white haired man, thought he himself only looked to be at the most thirty. The next was an old man, lacking hair at the top, but certainly not down at his chin. He had even decorated his beard with purple ribbons. Now that was just odd to Tsunade._

_The first one to come through smiled. "Ohayo Hokage. We're here to discuss about the Hollows." Tsunade just stared. 'Give me a break…'_

_End of flashback_

Of course, the meeting had proven useful, giving her the history of Soul Society and Hollows. Now her job was to gather all shinobi in Konoha and discuss this new turn of events. _Maybe even contact the Sand. _She frowned. She had just given herself more paperwork. She should learn to stop doing that.

--------

"So it's all ready I assume."

Aizen sat on his throne, surrounded by his arrancar. Gin smiled (tell me of a time when he WASN'T smiling). "Of course taichou. You shouldn'ta expect less from us! Ain't that right Tousen?" Tousen just grunted. Gin sighed. "You ain't any fun." Aizen smirked. "That is good then…" he toyed with a certain mechanism in his hand. "It's just a matter of me pushing the button." He smiled, reaching a level of beyond sinister that Gin's could not.

"I hope they like surprises…"

**I hope you guys liked that little ukitake crisis :) I know that was just evil but its too fun! Anyways REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Even though this chapter was done quite quickly, feed back! Also, to some other unsatisfied ppl who think that the shinobi are too weak, don't worry, they'll show their real stuff too! And the shinigami get to show off their zanpakutous in the chapters to come **


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, there have been some complaints by a person called 'Peter Kim'. Since this is the only way I can reach him, here u go! Just because Ukitake is sick, doesn't mean that he can't not move around (double negative, I kno) also, this is set during the period in the manga in bleach when the shinigami come over to ichigo's world, after all the arrancar fight. BUT, let's just pretend the shinigami going to high school didn't happen, but the fights did. I have the power. Because it's my fic ) (and no, zaraki doesn't have shikai. Sorry)**

**I don't own bleach. I wish I did. **

Shikamaru sighed. The clouds were nice today. He would love to just sit there and stare at them all day, but it was just his luck to be called to the Hokage. She had mentioned that he was to show a bunch of politically important figures around Konoha. _Like a tour guide, so troublesome,_ he thought. He scratched the back of his head, never disturbing his pony tail. _If I'm lucky, they won't be that interested… then I can go home and sleep._

As he walked along the wall of a hotel, his ears picked up a sound. _Shit…_ Shikamaru dodged just in time to avoid getting hit head on by a jumbling mess of limbs. He perched on the roof edge, peering down at the thing that had almost run him over. There was a silence as the ball of chaos hit the wall across the street and ceased to roll. The dust cleared to show three people: one tall red head, an orange-haired person, and a petite black haired girl. They all lay there in the alley, dazed and tangled. The first to stand up from this group was the red head. He stood up, almost as if drunk. He shook his head, getting the dirt off his shihakusho in the process.

"Rukia… don't try that again."

---------

Shikamaru's jaw dropped. The people who he was supposed to tour, were THEM! The red head recognized the chuunin from the event earlier. "Yo. You're the guy from before. Pineapple… something… right?"

Shikamaru frowned. "No… It's Shikamaru." The red head shrugged, clearly showing that he did not really care. Tsunade glared Renji's interruption down to a miniscule speck. She then continued with Shikamaru.

"As I was saying… This is Nara Shikamaru, a chuunin from our village. He will be showing all of you around Konoha, getting you familiar with the setting. Shikamaru, these are the shinigami from Soul Society." Shikamaru flinched. Death gods? Since when had they started hosting death gods? However, Tsunade was not done. She gave him a long 'you better remember this' look before introducing each of the shinigami.

"Now, from my left: Ukitake Jyuushiro, captain of the 13th squad; Kyaouraku Shunsui, captain of the 8th squad; Ise Nanao, lieutenant of the 8th squad; Hitsugaya Toushirou, captain of the 10th squad; Matsumoto Rangiku, lieutenant of the 10th squad; Zaraki Kenpachi, captain of the 11th squad; Kusajika Yachiru, lieutenant of the 11th squad; Abarai Renji, lieutenant of the 6th squad; Kuchiki Rukia, member of the 13th squad; and finally, Kurosaki Ichigo, a shinigami representative."

The Konoha genius nodded his head; he had already memorized all the names. But what he couldn't get over was how different they all were. For example, the ruthless looking captain of the 11th squad and the pink-haired lieutenant of the 11th squad. How could they POSSIBLY work together? Or the flamboyant captain of the 8th squad and the strict looking woman with glasses who was his lieutenant. Could they even cooperate?

He just shook his head. He would never know. With the information he had so far, Soul Society could be a ramshackle government run by five year olds. He yawned. He was tired.

"So… Tsunade-sama, do you have specific places, or just everywhere?"

Tsunade thought for a moment. "Start off with the local landmarks, then go through all levels of shinobi." Shikamaru nodded. He would have to begin with the landmark that everyone knew, the rock face that contained all the faces of the Hokages (AN: does this place have a name? I'm too lazy to search for it now).

He turned to all the expectant (and some uninterested) shinigami. "Okay, well, let's start the tour. This way…"

---------

"Renji! That one looks like you!"

"It does not! He doesn't look anything like me! That is a he right? He has long hair… so I can't tell."

This was not the tour Shikamaru had in mind. His eye twitched a bit. He had tried to explain the significance of some well known sights, but he had been ignored all too easily. He blamed the attention span of the three shinigami he had met before (Renji, Rukia, and Ichigo). The 'sharp observational skill' of the girl shinigami amazed him. She was currently pointing at Tsunade's likeness, claiming it looked like the orange-haired death god.

"So I assume it goes in the order from the very first to the current Hokage."

Shikamaru turned around, surprised someone had actually been LOOKING at the faces. A white haired boy glanced at the lazy shinobi. "Correct?" Shikamaru just nodded. The snowy white head just bobbed up and down in acknowledge. Shikamaru tapped into this memory bank to remember this shinigami's name. _Hitsugaya Toushirou… captain of the 10th squad._ Shikamaru decided that he was quite sensible. Staring up at the clouds for a few more minutes, he decided more landmarks would just encourage more silliness. He moved on to the academy.

-----------

"Good good. Very nice. Next!"

Iruka was testing the academy students' ability with the shuriken.

"Iruka-sensei." (AN: would he say that? Or is it senpai? I don't know)

Iruka turned around to see Shikamaru. "Ah! Shikamaru! Long time no see! Finally get a break?" Shikamaru sighed and shook his head. Then, Iruka finally noticed the group of odd looking people following him. He observed them, all wearing shihakusho, some with a white haori. All of them had swords. "Who are they?" he whispered.

"Well, we're shinigami that are here to help with some problems."

The one who had spoken was a captain with long white hair. He looked meaningfully at Iruka. Iruka understood what problem it was. _Those creatures._ But the captain immediately broke into a smile. "Is this where they teach all the future shinobi?"

Iruka broke into a happy mood too. "Yes, this is it. They learn the basics of shinobi skills and such." Ukitake nodded. Then he went to discuss a few things with the other captains. He immediately came back. He cleared his throat first, rather painfully, but recovered just as quickly as he returned.

"We would, if you do not mind, like a demonstration."

Iruka was only so happy. "Of course!"

----------

"Alright! All set? Go!"

The first student quickly performed hand seals. "Transform!" In an instant, he was an exact copy of Iruka. Iruka ticked off the name on his clipboard; he was marking them at the same time. "Next! This time, make a bunshin." The next student, a girl, performed hand seals. "Kage bunshin!" The clone however, was satisfactory. Meaning, it did look like her, but it could only stand for three seconds. After that, it collapsed into a heap. The little girl gasped. Iruka shook his head. She wouldn't pass.

The shinigami, meanwhile, had shut up. Well, the ones who had been chatting loudly anyways. They were watching the skills carefully, some of the more responsible ones taking notes. The captains, excluding Zaraki, were nodding and grunting, sometimes whispering to each other. Zaraki just stood there, bored. He didn't need to see this. He could beat anyone, no matter what technique the opponent used. _I can kick anyone's ass, anytime._ Yachiru would be smiling at him. _I'm sure you can Ken-chan! Because Ken-chan can beat anyone!_ Zaraki paused. _What the hell is she doing in my head? _Zaraki just sighed. Over exposure to Yachiru.

Ukitake clapped after a few more students. "If I may, could I get one of the shinigami from our group present a simple kidou?" There were some mumbling and whispering. Iruka frowned slightly. _Demon arts? _(AN: for those of you who don't know, kidou is supposed to translate into demon arts). "Go ahead." Ukitake gestured to Rukia.

Rukia stepped up to a target board (AN: I failed to mention that they are outside). "Ye Lord, mask of blood and flesh! All creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man, inferno and pandemonium! The sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hadou 31: Shakkahou!" The red ball of reiatsu hit the board squarely, burning it to a crisp. The students stood, silent for a moment. Then, broke into full applause.

"Wow! That was awesome!"

"Iruka-sensei! Can we learn how to do that?"

"Yeah can we? Then we can blast a lot of things! It's way better than bunshins!"

Rukia looked sufficiently pleased with herself. The academy students were already asking her to repeat her incantation.

Iruka stood stock still, amazed. He hadn't seen that kind of destructive power in a long time. And the person had called it simple! If that was a simple spell, what were complex ones like? He just shook his head, for the sake of his students and for his own incredulity.

"AH! WHO IS THIS YOUNG LADY WHO IS OVERFILLING WITH THE FIRE OF YOUTH?" (AN: guess who…)

Rukia was immediately caught by the hand by the oddest looking shinobi alive. Maito Gai. His bowl cut hair was dangerously close to her and threatened to eat her own swallow tail hair alive. His eyes were burning with over enthusiasm. Overall, Rukia was scared. Since the Aizen incident, Rukia was truly terrified. An involuntary shudder ran through her body. The other shinigami just stared, some with sweat drops on their head.

"Gai! This is…" Iruka stopped, realizing that he did not know her name. "This is… a… guest…. To Konoha." There, that sounded right. Shikamaru decided to take over before Iruka could humiliate himself further. "This is a shinigami from Soul Society. Her name is Kuchiki Rukia."

"AH! I SEE! SUCH A BEAUTIFUL NAME FOR SUCH A LADY WHO BURNS WITH THE SPRING OF YOUTH!" Gai was nearly killing himself with the excitement. Hitsugaya just hoped he didn't wet himself. Meanwhile, Renji stood eyes bulging. He guessed that this shinobi had never heard of Kuchiki Byakuya. Luckily, Rukia was rescued by Ukitake.

Gracefully taking Rukia's arm, he pulled (more like pried) her out of Gai's grip, so that Gai barely noticed. "Nice to meet you. I assume that you are a shinobi of Konoha as with all the others that we have met." Gai turned his eyes to the captain. Immediately he did his nice guy pose, blinding half the group with his teeth.

"Nice to meet you! I am Maito Gai! And who could you be?"

Ukitake, not wanting to offend Gai, he did the nice pose as well, believing this to be a customary polite way to greet people. "I am Ukitake Jyoushirou. I hope to get along well with you." There was a moment of awkwardness as all of them stared at the two figures doing a nice guy pose.

"Ano… Ukitake-taichou… what are you doing?" Rukia asked. Ukitake turned his head to Rukia, still doing the nice guy pose. "I am greeting a shinobi. It is important to make good relations here." Rukia had an even bigger sweat drop on her head. "Ah… I see…"

Hitsugaya shook his head and covered his face with his hand, defeated. "Someone get him out of that pose before he embarrasses himself more." He mumbled. No one did. They didn't want to get caught between the cross fire of glistening teeth and glistening white hair.

----------

After getting rid of the recently met shinobi, they entered a large training area.

"This is where… the chuunins train." _Yes… that sounds right_, thought Shikamaru. He was still dazed from the nice guy poses. (AN: do chuunins train in a large place? I just came up with this for convenience) "Chuunins?" Kyaouraku asked. Shikamaru sighed. Here he goes.

"The shinobi are arranged into rank by their skills. The first is a genin, the lowest level. The next are chuunins. Genins achieve this stage by successfully passing the chuunin exams. The next one is a jounin. They have to be exceptionally talented. Jounins also get groups of genins assigned to them, to train until the chuunin exams. Missions are given according to the ranks also."

The captain nodded satisfied. "So which rank are you?" the orange haired shinigami asked. Shikamaru looked. _Kurosaki Ichigo, shinigami representative._ "I am a chuunin." He said. Shikamaru didn't bother to look at his reaction. He just looked down at the sparring below. Unfortunately, it ended a minute after he looked. _Well that wasn't very cool…_

"Hey! Shikamaru!"

"Shikamaru! What are you doing here?"

He turned around to familiar voices. There stood a slim blonde kuinochi next to a chubby round faced shinobi. "Oh. It's you guys. Ah… so troublesome." The blonde bopped him on the head for not acknowledging her properly. The 'big boned' shinobi continued eating his chips, spilling an awful lot onto his armor. After Ino had put Shikamaru into a headlock, her attention fell on the shinigami.

"Who are these people?" She looked at all of them. Some how… they didn't quite fit. Her eyes fell on a certain orange-haired shinigami. _Oh… date material._ (AN: LOLOL) Ino smiled and winked at him. The shinigami blinked before turning a bit pink. She giggled. It was so adorable that he was shy. Shikamaru coughed. "Ino…" She flicked her hair. "Fine fine. Tell me."

"They are shinigami; we're supposed to host them. They are currently political guests of Konoha." He yawned. This day was way too long. So troublesome. And he was still in the headlock. "Oh?" the blonde said as she finally released him. She looked at the shortest members, the pink haired kid and the white haired one. _They don't look very politically capable. _The white haired boy glared at her. _Hm… attitude._ She turned away, not very interested. "So you got stuck touring them huh? I thought you were capable then this Shika! You should train right now with me!" Ignoring the already complaining chuunin, she pulled him down to the empty training area.

"Ready? GO!"

She performed hand seals, and then positioned her hands at an awkward circle. Shikamaru's eyes widened. _Ah… so troublesome. She's serious. _Shikamaru immediately began moving, making it harder for Ino to catch her target. The shinigami watched. "What's she doing with her hands?" Ichigo asked. Renji shrugged. "Beats me." Nevertheless, their eyes didn't move from the fight. Meanwhile, Zaraki was taking mild interest, but not much. _Too weak…_ Yachiru sat on the railing with her face in her hands. "They aren't really fun for Ken-chan, are they?" Zaraki shook his head. "Nope. Too easy."

Giving up her main attack, Ino began to chase after Shikamaru instead. However, the only progress made was succeeding making this into a tag game. She landed silently and frowned, bringing wrinkles to her prized skin. _I'm not much of a strategist like Shikamaru, but at least I can try. _She hid behind a tree (AN: also forgot to mention that it's like the chuunin exam area, with all the plants and stuff). _Kage Bunshin!_

The two Inos nodded and went separate ways.

Shikamaru lay on the grass, concealed by a bush. _Why did I get stuck with this? I rather stare up at the clouds here. Ah… I wish I was a cloud… So troublesome…_He yawned. Maybe Ino would never find him. Then he could sleep. He was beginning to drift off anyways…

"Found you!"

He heard a rustling of bushes, signaling him that she had jumped. Shikamaru watched as Ino came down for him, the sun against her form and a kunai pointed at his head. It glinted dangerously. _Ino! Leave it to the girl to get serious…_ He dodged the vicious attack, resulting in a buried kunai an inch away from the intended target. Ino grunted in frustration and began attacking again. Shikamaru did some back flips, avoiding shurikens as well. He landed sideways on a tree. _Well time to start…_ He began to gather shadows around him, stretching and pulling them. Ino wisely back flipped away.

"Are those shadows… moving taichou?"

Hitsugaya squinted. Even though they were quite a ways away (two storey) he could see that the shadows were forming shapes other than the ones that they were supposed to make. His eyes widened. People who could do such things were dangerous. He wondered why they had trouble with Hollows.

Shikamaru concentrated. _A bit further…_ He could just reach her… almost. Ino was just out of his shadow's reach on the field. A kunai rested coldly against Shikamaru's throat. Shikamaru didn't move. "Caught you Shika." The blonde let her bunshin disappear with a poof. "You lose to me this time." Ino smiled, pleased. She had finally beaten him. She moved slightly from behind the tree. Shikamaru smiled. "Not quite."

Ino's eyes widened. She was frozen in place! She couldn't move! He had caught her. AGAIN. Shikamaru stepped off the tree trunk. Ino did a similar motion, looking awkward and stupid. "Now…" he said. He reached into his shuriken pouch. Ino did likewise. "Shika… I think it's over now." He was about to speak when he heard something. Ino did too. He pulled his shadow back.

Deep under the ground, something beeped.

"What-"

----------

The explosion resonated inside Konoha. Tsunade looked up from her documents. _What was that?_

---------

Aizen dropped the remote onto the ground, smashing it into a million pieces.

"It's begun."

----------

"Kazekage-sama, a message for you."

"Place it on the desk."

The assistant gently put the letter on the Kazekage's desk before scurrying out. Gaara hated when they did that. It made him want to kill them. He reached over the desk and grabbed the letter. He sighed as his robes bunched up again. Next time, he was leaving them in his room. He quickly unsealed it, noticing that it was from the Leaf, most likely Tsunade.

He spread the scroll onto his desk. His normally expressionless face showed a hint of surprise.

"Temari. Kankurou."

The siblings slid out of the shadows, each leaning against a pillar inside the office. "Yes, Kazekage?" Gaara glared. After all the lecturing he had done, they STILL used his title. They were probably teasing. He stood up, hoisting his gourd onto his back.

"Prepare to go to the Leaf."

**Yes! Finished! Anyways, just to tell you, even though it'll spoil it, the next chapter will have some shinigami vs shinobi! Yay! Cheer everyone! So, if you have specific fights you want to see in this fic, please tell me. But they have to be people who are likely to be at the chuunin training center. Also, I know that my fight sequences are considerably weak. If you have any tips for me (notice I said tips, not burns) feel free to tell me! Thank you! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Ahem, I know there's been some issue about AN notes in the story, so in this story, the AN notes will NOT BE PRESENT! hears cheering yay! So, they'll all be at the bottom. Yes, you love me. Anyways, the long awaited beginning to shinigami vs shinobi! BEGIN!**

**After this annoying disclaimer of course.**

**I don't own bleach, like I said from the beginning.**

Dust drifted in big clouds around the training area, covering most of the building. Rukia lowered her shield. Hitsugaya did likewise with his.

"Is everyone alright?" the little captain asked.

There were a few coughing and swatting at the dust, but it seemed like they had all survived. Hitsugaya looked warily at the training ground. Something was not right. He would bet his zanpakutou that it was Aizen. Slowly, he approached the railing, his steps making hollow sounds on the wood. He peered over.

Hitsugaya pulled out Hyourinmaru just in time to block a well aimed kunai. The kunai landed uselessly near the railing. The captain prepared for another attack. He watched with his icy eyes as the dust receded from his attacker. _Could it be…?_

It was Shikamaru. Or was it? He was squatting on the railing, with a grin on his face, but his face… it wasn't right. Hitsugaya squinted. Then, he stood there, amazed and horrified.

Shikamaru had a jelly-like fluid all over his face, covering most of his features except for his eyes. Even they had changed too, from emitting boredom to pure brutality. _Like a Hollow._ Hitsugaya scowled as the disgusting jelly dripped distastefully from Shikamaru. Shikamaru smiled, baring his newly acquired teeth.

"Hello…. Kid."

-----------

Rukia was in a similar situation. She had lost sight of the main group when another giant dust cloud rolled in behind her. She had learned also that you should not run around aimlessly in an unfamiliar setting. So, she had decided to stay put where she was, with Sode no Shirayuki. But, this turned out to be dangerous too.

Currently, someone was attacking her with shurikens. And she couldn't tell from where. She swore under her breath, blocking yet another one. She needed to be prepared. But how could she with an enemy like this? Rukia tried to clear her head, coming up with possibilities on who could be attacking her.

They had to be a shinobi, since no Hollow or shinigami carried around shurikens. However, it was almost unlikely since it was announced that shinigami were politically important to Konoha. Also, the shinobi didn't seem like the type to randomly attack people. _Unless…_

"Who could you be, girl? Or are you a boy?"

Rukia turned around quickly. The sight ran through her mind like a déjà vu. It was the blonde from before, except that she had _changed_. Significantly. The white substance on her face dripped and constantly slid off, but it never truly decided to remove itself from her face. The black eyes, rimmed red around the eyes, didn't blink. The blonde smirked, showing off the sharp cannibalistic teeth in the process. Rukia's hand trembled. The body was normal, it was just the face. Only the face. Only the face was a Hollow.

_Kaien-dono…_

"Shall we start?"

-----------

Ukitake coughed. "Shunsui?" He reached out his hand to a familiar pink kimono. The captain turned around. "Ah? Jyuushiro? Are you alright?" Ukitake coughed and nodded at the same time. Shunsui frowned. It wasn't going to be pretty if his illness took over now. He searched the surrounding, though it was useless with all the dust. "Nanao-chaaaan? Nanao-chaaaan!" There was no answer. His frown deepened. This was one of the worst situations he could ever be in. His hand strayed to the hilt of one of his zanpakutou. Ukitake, getting over his coughing fit, did the same.

Something moved in the dust, causing an unnatural shift in their drifting. Shunsui's and Jyuushiro's eyes followed this. They waited. Jyuushiro dodged a kunai, which cut off some strands of his hair. Shunsui also dodged one, which cut his straw hat into half. Shunsui watched as his favorite hat fell onto the wooden board. It was the one that Nanao-chan had given him. He gripped the hilt tightly. The attacker would pay for more than just the hat.

Then, as if it were planned, the dust lifted at one part of their line of sight. The figure walked towards them. The figure stopped. The two captains stood still, anticipation running through their blood. Long black hair blew in the wind. A Hollow mask stared back at them. Shunsui gaped, intrigued. Emotionless white eyes looked directly at his prey.

"Byakugan."

-----------

"What's with all this dust?"

Ichigo brushed the dust off his hair for the millionth time. Renji shook his ponytail to get rid of the dust. "If you weren't so thick, I bet you could figure it out." Ichigo glared. Just because they were in danger, didn't mean that they couldn't argue.

"Yeah? Then what is with all the dust Renji?"

Renji paused, lost for an explanation. Before Ichigo could bask in his helplessness, Renji blurted out the first thing on his mind.

"It's dust season."

Ichigo stopped and stared. "What?" Renji started to get flustered. _O shit…_ "I said it's… dust season!" Ichigo continued to stare at him. Renji was frantic now. He just couldn't look stupid in front of the orange-haired shinigami AGAIN.

"You've never heard of dust season? The hell Ichigo! We have it in Soul Society all the time! That's where spring cleaning came from you know!" Renji started to ramble on, but was stopped by Ichigo's foot. The orange-haired shinigami gave him a dangerous grin.

"You expect me to believe that? How stupid do you think I am…" Ichigo continued to dig his foot into Renji's face. Renji managed to forcefully remove this offending mouth blocker from his face, and gasped for air. "Baka! Were you trying to kill me! I could have died of suffocation!" Renji continued breathing in and out.

Ichigo smirked. "I would have been doing the world a favor." Renji glared. "Say that to my face." Ichigo and Renji were only one inch away now, giving each other death glares. Then Ichigo broke apart. "Come on. We need to find Rukia." The red head stood dazed for a moment, and then followed. "Yeah."

From the storey above, a pair of eyes followed them.

"Got you."

---------

Matsumoto landed softly. First, it had been the fat arrancar in the material world. Now, it was the chubby shinobi/Hollow. She had some luck meeting overweight people. She dodged lightly as an extended arm tried to grab her. Haneko's excitement intensified, its overwhelming desire to _play_ with the attacker filling Matsumoto's mind. _Not yet…_

She hid behind a pillar, her breathing coming normally now. It had caught her by surprise when a giant ball of flesh had come up from behind to crush her. She sighed as the shinobi passed by her. Her hand ran through her hair, trying to think of a strategy. Instead, last night's event came to her.

_Matsumoto's flashback_

"_And you're absolutely sure?"_

_The white haired captain carefully scrutinized his lieutenant. Matsumoto firmly stood her ground against his icy green eyes. "I know it taichou. It was Gin." _

_Hitsugaya's frown deepened. Matsumoto somehow regretted telling him this. Lately, he had been stressed, winded so tight that it would be dangerous if he decided to come loose. Aizen's betrayal, his defeat, and Hinamori's coma were all weighing down on him now. Matsumoto's eyes softened as he walked back and forth in the hotel room. Even if he was a captain, he was still a child. And children shouldn't have so much to pull them back. Her thoughts even strayed to a common topic in her mind: how he had died in the real world. She wondered if he had even been able to taste childhood. Her childhood had truly started when she had met Gin. It had ended the same way as well. _

"_I will inform the captains tomorrow."_

_Hitsugaya quietly shut the door. Matsumoto sat down onto the couch behind her, tired and stressed. There were just too many things to think about… Too many…_

_End of flashback_

She tightened her grip on her zanpakutou. She couldn't kill this shinobi so bluntly. She was sure there was a way to stop him without killing him. Her cerulean blue eyes glanced at the looming shadow behind her.

"So you ready to go again big guy?"

----------

"THIS WAY KEN-CHAN! THIS WAY!"

Zaraki took a quick left. "Are you sure? Can you sense any strong presence?" Yachiru pouted, still clinging tightly to her companion. "Fuu... Is Ken-chan doubting me?" Zaraki didn't say anything. "Fine. But you better be right this time."

Yachiru beamed again. "YAY! GO KEN-CHAN!" Of course, three seconds after that, they were stopped by yet another wall. It was getting harder and harder to see properly with all the dust too. So, that meant that Zaraki had stopped only a centimeter apart from the wall. _That was close… _He looked up. It was obviously just blocking another hallway. He smiled, gripping his zanpakutou. "Screw this." In a flash of slashes, the wall lay in jumbled pieces, some falling carelessly to the ground below. Yachiru clapped in delight. "YAY!"

Zaraki licked his lips, almost tasting the fights that awaited him. "So which way now?" Yachiru hummed while looking around. Not that she could see anything. Then, she noticed a certain dust cloud. One that looked uncannily like a rabbit, Chappy the Rabbit to be exact. She pointed dead on to the cloud. "THAT WAY KEN-CHAN!" With that, she was swept up in the wind that Zaraki caused as he ran, giggling with joy.

A figure hung upside-down on the ceiling. "Tsk, tsk… such bad sense of direction." She landed silently. "And so clueless. Can't sense another's presence either." Her hand strayed to her kunai pouch, pulling out a kunai. She licked its sharp edge with her snake like tongue.

"But so fun."

----------

"What's going on Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade continued to look on at the ruined chuunin training center. Kurenai tried again. "Tsunade-sama!" Tsunade snapped out of her trance. She looked at Kurenai, then at her team. She looked back at the building in front of her. Half of it was destroyed, while the other half was covered in thick dust, making it impossible to see if there were any survivors. So far, none had come out. Tsunade sighed.

"Team Kurenai. Perform a rescue mission. Bring back any survivors. Do not linger to defeat any opposition if present. Your mission is strictly to get out of there with as many living as you can. Do you understand?"

"Hai!"

The team disappeared, leaving Tsunade at the steps of the structure. _What is going on here?_

----------

"Now ain't t'at a pretty sight…"

Ichimaru Gin stood on a nearby roof, looking at the dust covered training center. His finger played around with the mechanism given to him by Aizen. His eyes opened slightly, his smile never disappearing.

"Now when should I be pressin' the pretty button…"

**I'm sorry! I know that ended MUCH too quickly! FORGIVE ME! (Also for the TERRIBLE Gin accent at the end. I just can't figure out how he speaks )**

**It's just that I HAVE NO IDEA WHO SHOULD FIGHT ICHIGO AND RENJI! I mean sure, Naruto would be a really cool idea, BUT, I originally had it intended for later, you know, save the best for last. SO HELP ME! REVIEW! YOU WILL BE REWARDED WITH A LONGER BETTER CHAPTER! I PROMISE! Also, some cookies would help  **

**O btw, for the people who didn't get it, Zaraki will be fighting Anko. That's right, Anko. I'm sorry, but Kakashi is great, but not really the Zaraki match up type I think. Besides, Anko's funny in her own way, even if she's half Hollow  You can complain about this, then I can try to fix it for you guys.**

**I hope you guys liked the interruption free-ness of it all.**

**SO REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ahem, this chapter will focus mostly on Rukia and Hitsugaya. So… the next chapters will be Zaraki, Ukitake, and Shunsui! Yay! So be patient! **

**Let's start the blonde vs brunette and genius vs genius!**

Blood dripped onto the wooden boards, seeping through the cracks.

Rukia was panting a little. Her left hand firmly pressed against the wound on her right wrist. Her zanpakutou hung loosely in her hand. Sode no Shirayuki was silent. Rukia sighed. Sode no Shirayuki was never silent. It would always be moving, sparkling, and charming its way through everything. But now, it was silent.

Would she kill again? Of her own will? Or would it be like last time, where she was forced to. Could she… do it again? Her left hand trembled, letting blood leak even more. Was she a killer?

_Rukia's Flashback_

_Rukia sat comfortably beside the lake. The sunset was beautiful. It made the waters orange and yellow, making it seem unnatural and mystical. She sighed. It had only been a week since she had joined the 13th squad, and already she was tired of it. All the running around, all the shinigami, all the silent rejections…_

_She lay down on the soft grass. She wanted… something. She rolled over onto her side. It was so peaceful here, no expectations or anything. She closed her eyes, taking in the smell of the garden._

"_Oi. Kuchiki."_

_Rukia yelped and jumped, head butting against someone's chin._

_She rubbed her head, sure that she had acquired a new bump on her head. "Ouch."_

"_Ouch is right." Rukia turned around to see Kaien, standing up slowly, rubbing his chin. He moved his jaw experimentally. "I'm so sorry Kaien-dono! I didn't mean to! I-"_

"_It's fine Kuchiki." Kaien sat down beside the now quiet Rukia. "So… what's wrong?" Rukia looked at Kaien, surprised. Kaien grinned ruefully. "What? You thought I wouldn't notice?" Rukia turned back helplessly. They sat in silence for a few minutes. "So are you going to tell me?"_

_Rukia opened her mouth then closed it again. She tried again, but did the same thing. This went on for a couple of minutes. Kaien watched impatiently. Then he jumped on her, ruffling her hair like a crazed maniac. Rukia sat, stunned, after he was done. She wondered what new shape he had sculpted it into this time._

"_Stop acting like a goldfish! Talk Kuchiki!"_

_Rukia sighed. "I… It's not as if I dislike the 13th squad. I really am truly honoured that I was accepted. I love it here… It's… great." Kaien hit Rukia on the head lightly. "Idiot. I didn't ask you to praise our division. I already know it's the best. Now tell me what's wrong." _

_Rukia looked at onto the lake. She should talk. It was true. She tried again._

"_I don't think… I belong here Kaien-dono… as a shinigami I mean." When Kaien didn't interrupt, she continued. "I… don't fit in… I always have too much time to do things. Because… I don't really spend my time with other people… But where can I go from here…?"_

_Rukia was again roughly treated by the 13th squad lieutenant. "Geesh! It's all part of being new! You think everyone here had a friend when they were new? No. You make friends as you go along. Sure, it might be hard, but it's guaranteed that you'll meet new people. It's up to you if you want to make friends with them." Rukia looked down. It wasn't… really her problem. No one would really fit her in._

"_Besides," Kaien continued, his voice softer, "We all accept you here Kuchiki. Don't think otherwise."_

_He sat up, brushing grass off of his shihakusho. He yawned and mumbled about being hungry and stalked off. Rukia sat by the pool for a while, looking at Kaien's disappearing figure. She smiled._

"_Thank you... Kaien-dono."_

_End of flashback_

Rukia flinched as a shuriken embedded itself an inch away from her foot. Kaien-dono had been so kind, and she had killed him. She shook her head. _I thought you got over that… Even his family has forgiven you… Forgive yourself already!_ Rukia ducked, letting a volley of shurikens go over her head. _Forgiveness is a virtue. _She moved to the left, letting the kunai only cut her right cheek.

_Am I virtuous enough for forgiveness?_

----------

The Hollow Shikamaru marveled at the blood on his arm. "You've cut me…" He let it drip to the ground and continued to stare at it. "What… a shame."

With unpredictable speed, he charged at Hitsugaya. The captain stood ready, zanpakutou poised. Instead of the head on attack as he expected, Shikamaru pulled back at the last minute and threw a kunai. Hitsugaya easily knocked it off its path with his zanpakutou, at the same time, stepping back. Then he realized something. _Damn…_

Hitsugaya jumped, avoiding the giant shadow that was quickly gaining on his little one. He landed silently, being careful where he landed. Shikamaru grinned. "Ah… You know about my ability? Well I guess I lost the element of surprise. You should know that that is the one most important factor to shinobi. It could determine the success rate of your mission."

Shikamaru disappeared from Hitsugaya's line of sight. "Of course…" Shikamaru breathed down the captain's neck, "I'm not really a shinobi anymore…" Hitsugaya's eyes widened. _Was that shunpo?_ He himself disappeared as Shikamaru's kunai buried in the now empty spot. Hitsugaya camouflaged himself within the dust clouds. They were getting thinner, but they still helped. Being his resourceful self, he stood ready, unmoving as he did not want to stir up any dust, while he thought at the same time. It was possible that the shinobi knew shunpo, but called it something else. The commander had said that they are skilled. However, there was also the chance that this could be only Hollow-induced. Hitsugaya's grip tightened. Would he have to kill this shinobi in order to purify him?

He gathered his reiatsu, steeling himself against anything that might disrupt him.

"Boo."

This was Hitsugaya's cue to attack. He quickly jumped out of the cover of dust and readied himself. He remembered exactly where Shikamaru was. He let his shakkahou loose.

The explosion shook the land. Hitsugaya landed a little ways away, his piercing eyes surveying the dust. When he couldn't see or sense much, he began to be wary that the shot had been too direct. He thought wrong.

"Where are you looking? Were you looking for me?"

Hitsugaya turned around, only to be stopped partway by a kunai pointed at his eye. He froze. "Is this it? That's sad… I'm so bored too…" Shikamaru yawned. He looked at Hitsugaya, who mumbled something. "What was that?" Hitsugaya's mouth twitched up to his cocky grin.

"I said, Hadou #4: Byakurai."

Shikamaru was shot away in an instant, freeing Hitsugaya from his uncomfortable hold. He frowned. The lightening would have been nothing to the Hollow shinobi. He waited for the shinobi to get up. Shikamaru sat motionless against a wall. Slowly, his head lifted up. "That was…" Shikamaru smiled. "Great. Let's do it again."

---------

Ino was now in full view. The dust had finally dissipated in their area, allowing Rukia to attack properly. Ino grinned wickedly. "Kill me. I dare you." Rukia didn't flinch. Instead, she gathered her reiatsu.

"O Lord, mask of flesh and bone! All creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man, truth and temperance! Upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! Hadou #33: Soukatsui!"

Ino stood on her hands to dodge the incoming fire. It was coming at a fast speed, but if she twisted her hip just a little… The ball of blue fire passed by Ino. Rukia frowned. She held up her zanpakutou.

"Mae… Sode no Shirayuki."

Ino watched as the sword turned into an impressive piece of artwork. It was pure white, the blade, the guard, the hilt, everything. It disturbed Ino to some length. "It's just a sissy white sword. You can't do anything with it to hurt me." Rukia took on a traditional pose. The blade glinted dangerously, reflecting Rukia's violet eyes. "Wrong. First dance: White Moon."

In a blink of an eye, Rukia was next to Ino, preparing to put her zanpakutou back into its sheath. Ino looked at the ominous circle around her. _This doesn't feel right…_ Hollow Ino tried to move away, but gasped as she realized she couldn't move. Her body, from her chest and down, was stuck in a giant wall of ice. She struggled viciously, even clawing against the ice. Rukia looked on blankly. The white zanpakutou shimmered endlessly in her hand. The semi-Hollow smiled devilishly.

"It doesn't matter… as long as I have my hands free…" She performed some quick hand seals, then finally left her hand in a wonky circle. "You didn't see my ability did you now… That's too bad. It could have saved you too." The semi-Hollow took careful aim at Rukia's shocked face. "You won't feel a thing… I promise."

---------

_He's stronger than I thought…_

Hitsugaya prepared for another attack with Hyourinmaru. He hadn't yet released his shikai yet, but he was damned close. He glared at Shikamaru who was grinning from ear to ear. He didn't want to kill him, no matter how annoying he got. He just had to remember that this probably wasn't the way this shinobi would usually act. Taking a deep breath, he lunged for a direct attack. Shikamaru threw shurikens, just as Hitsugaya suspected. Hitsugaya twisted left and right, avoiding them, but never stopping. The Hollow Shikamaru hissed. It threw even more at Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya smirked. _Perfect._

"Souten ni Zase! Hyourinmaru!"

Shikamaru watched as an enormous volume of ice and water came hurtling right at him. Except, they disappeared before they reached him. _What?_ Then, he saw the shinigami's plan. He had only used that as a distraction. The real purpose was to knock all the shurikens to _him_. He dodged them as best as he could; only ripping some of his clothes. Hitsugaya landed behind Shikamaru. "Did you think I would waste an attack on trying to kill you?" _Not to mention the fact that I don't really want to kill you…_

Shikamaru only laughed. It rang emptily in the large hall. "How does it feel… Kid?"

Hitsugaya stood still. He was stuck. He couldn't move. He watched painfully at his hand holding Hyourinmaru. It trembled slightly, but didn't budge.

"It's called Kagemane no Jutsu… Do you like it?" The Hollow Shikamaru would have continued cracking up, if it wasn't for the fact that he noticed a crucial fact. Something was holding his ankle. He looked down, as did Hitsugaya. His eyes widened. He could see Hitsugaya's large green eyes looking at him.

"Do you like it? It's my zanpakutou, Hyourinmaru."

Yes, the chain at the end of Hyourinmaru had managed to wrap itself around Shikamaru's ankle through Hitsugaya's momentum. The semi-Hollow could feel ice forming around his ankle, and rapidly spreading to his other one as well. He shook his leg, but it was firmly bound onto the ankle. He tried to pry it off desperately. He gave a cry of shock when he realized his hands were stuck onto the chain and were also being covered by ice.

"Make it… stop. Make it stop!"

Hitsugaya, in the same position as Shikamaru didn't say anything. Ice continued to climb over the semi-Hollow's body. The semi-Hollow's head swung around, making Hitsugaya do likewise. They were only an inch apart and nearly nose to nose.

"Make it stop… or I'll kill you."

Shikamaru opened his mouth, and to the horror of the little captain, a Cero began to form.

_Shit…_

----------

Tsunade watched as yet ANOTHER traditional Japanese door opened next to her. _Oh no… more of these shinigami._ She was right on. A shinigami came through, but not one that she would have expected. He wasn't tall and masculine, but he was definitely a guy. He looked tired though, as if he had missed breakfast. He looked around shyly, and then focused his attention to Tsunade, before addressing her feet as he spoke.

"Ano… Is this Konoha?"

**How'd you guys like that? Were the fights satisfying enough for you? Please tell me! I WANT TO KNOW! Sorry if Hanatarou's entrance ruined it all for you lol. It's just that I realized some of the shinigami would get hurt, so they need someone to heal them PROPERLY… I don't trust shinobi healing ppl to heal shinigami lmao! Ya.. I'm sugar high rite now.**

**So next chapter will be… Zaraki vs Anko and Jyuushiro and Shunsui vs Neji! YAY! (and some mild Matsumoto… I totally forgot about her heh heh…) so watch out! But it might take a while, so, sorri.**

**Also, I am thinking of the following ppl for ichigo and renji fight:**

**Lee (lol, freaky shinobi eyebrows vs. freaky shinigami eyebrows)**

**The two chuunins from the chuunin exam thing (forgot their names but they were in there a lot)**

**I don't kno! Help me! (o, and im sorri this chapter was short as well)**


	7. Chapter 7

"The shinobi is rather good, ne?"

Shusui blocked a shuriken from hitting his lovely pink kimono. He sighed. He needed sake badly now. And his Nanao-chan would be nice too. In a bikini. Well, he could dream.

Ukitake stood back to back with his friend. "He is… but is he good enough?"

The Hollow Neji moved out of his cover to attack directly. He aimed at Kyaouraku first. The white eyes seemed to constrict as he came closer. The captain pointed one of his zanpakutou at Neji.

"Come."

Neji moved quickly to the captain's left, forcing Kyaouraku to shift himself slightly. At that point, the semi-Hollow's mouth seemed to twitch at a corner. Within a blink of an eye, Neji had moved to the right, leaving a somewhat surprised captain open. The shinobi's hand moved upward toward the arm.

"You've forgotten about me."

Jyuushiro moved his sword downwards at Neji. The shinobi easily dodged the attack, rolling over to his side. He landed a few feet away. In a deadly manner, the semi-Hollow stood up, taking a kunai out of his pouch.

"I never forget."

Shunsui chuckled. "Ah. It speaks." He rolled up his shihakusho's sleeve. As he said this, he observed his right arm. There were two points made, one on his wrist, the other closer to the elbow. _Hm…_ He put his sleeve back to normal. He somehow doubted those were randomly jabbed at. Jyuushiro looked over at his friend. "Are you fine?" Shunsui just smiled his lazy smile. Jyuushiro turned his attention back to Neji.

"So… do I have the honor of knowing my opponent's name?" Ukitake moved into a defensive stance. He waited, sword pointed at the shinobi's throat. The shinobi's mouth seemed to twitch; the captains took this as a sign that he was amused. "Who am I?" Neji slowly went into an unfamiliar stance. "I was… Hyuuga Neji… But you can call me…" Ukitake blinked as the shinobi disappeared from his line of sight. "Your killer."

Ukitake immediately swung to his side, missing the semi-Hollow by an inch. The opponent in turn tried an attack on the captain. With his hand, he touched Ukitake's arm at a certain point. Alarmed, the captain moved back. He touched the part of the arm that Neji had touched. He couldn't feel any wetness, so no bleeding. It didn't seem to hurt that much either.

"361."

Both Ukitake and Kyaouraku looked up.

"361 points. I've hit two of them on your companion, and one on you. A total of 719 more openings for me to hit."

Neji moved into the jyuuken pose. "I don't plan on missing any."

------------

If there was one thing Matsumoto hated, it was bad breath. She couldn't stand it. You couldn't work with people with chip breath either. You wouldn't even try talking to them. They would, inevitably, be a loner in a group. Until they went to a proper hygienist who would fix them up in no time. Like the one at the Shinigami Health Center. She was really good. She had even given Matsumoto a tip to make her hair even MORE glossy. She could really use that hygienist right now. For the chip breath, and her currently dusty hair.

The heavy shinobi came at Matsumoto, rolling at an incredible speed. She touched Haneko's blade.

"Unare Haneko."

-----------

"Ken-chan is really bad at directions…"

'Ken-chan' growled. "I've been following your advice." Yachiru giggled. "Ken-chan should be making his own decisions!" Zaraki just started running the other way. He punched a few holes in the wall for good measure. Then he proceeded to ignore more of Yachiru's nonsense. He was pissed. He hadn't met ANYONE worth fighting. Sure, a few shinobi here and there, but they had all been stepped on by Yachiru or gone down in one slash. _Hell… they are unbelievably weak…_ Yachiru scanned the hallways. Then, something that wasn't Ikkaku's bald head, a bunny, or food, caught her attention. "Hey! Ken-chan! What's that?"

"What?" Zaraki looked at where she was pointing. He was amazed that it wasn't another random dust cloud, though they were starting to recede. The maniac fight machine grinned and licked his lips. "Prey."

---------

"You've noticed, haven't you Jyuushiro?"

Shunsui said to his old friend. Ukitake nodded. They had both avoided being victims of poking for a while now, only getting a few more areas hit, but the unfamiliar setting was working against them. To top things off, they had just found at the effect of the jabbings. Ukitake shifted his grip on his zanpakutou. It was getting harder to summon his reiatsu now, as if, at some points, it was blocked. Kyaouraku frowned, not liking the fact that he would have to work a little harder to attack. He sighed. "Well… I guess we have to defeat him."

Neji did not move from his jyuuken stance. "You are going to try to kill me? That is futile." Suddenly, his eyes widened. He turned slightly to be met by flowing white hair. The 13th squad captain glanced at him. "Defeating does not always mean killing."

Neji immediately attacked, trying to get a hit in. The shinigami pushed himself off backwards on his feet to avoid it. The semi-Hollow threw shurikens at Ukitake, at the same time throwing kunais at Kyaouraku. Ukitake blocked them all with his zanpakutou, as Kyaouraku did the same. Ukitake landed a little ways away. He brought up his zanpakutou symbolically. "Ready when you are."

"Nami kotogotoku, wa ga tate to nare, inazuchi kotogotoku, wa ga yaiba to nare."

The semi-Hollow stared as the zanpakutou began to split. Before he knew it, Ukitake was holding two blades, connected by a sturdy red rope decorated with many silver medallions. The captain glared. "Sougyo no Kotowari." Neji frowned. The sword had changed shape, which wasn't what he had been expecting. _But still…_ He silently moved into another stance in jyuuken, _I can kill him._

Meanwhile, not to attract attention, Shunsui said his summons quietly. "Hanakaze midarete, kashin naki, tenpuu midarete, tenma warau." The peeking sun glinted off his changed zanpakutou. "Katen Kyoukotsu."

Ukitake was breathing hard. In addition to the fact that he had to use more reiatsu, he needed rest. He could almost feel the blood and headaches that were bound to happen soon. He blinked, trying to focus. All the more reason to end this quickly. He just hoped he wouldn't kill the shinobi in the process; he was sure the mask could be removed.

Neji grew tired of waiting. He could see his current opponent wavering, and looking tired. He focused his chakra. "Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!" He came head on to Ukitake, hands ready to hit. Ukitake pointed one of his blades at Neji's fast coming figure, prepared. Neji's fingers almost made contact with Ukitake, but was stopped by cold metal. He looked up. Shunsui smiled at him. "Now that isn't very safe…" Neji scowled, and instead, changed his point of offense to the 8th squad captain.

Shunsui threw his head back as a shuriken flew above his nose. At the same time, never looking back up, he twisted to the right, allowing a kunai to bury itself into a wall. The captain looked sadly at the pink kimono, pinned to the wall by the kunai. He pouted. "I didn't even bring any extras…" Unfortunately, he didn't have time to mourn the loss. Neji had taken advantage of his disappointment to try to land his fingers onto Shunsui. Though, he wasn't succeeding much. At the last minute, the captain would always dodge it. It angered Neji. It was as if he was playing with him. And he wasn't even attacking him properly. A half hearted slash with his giant twin zanpakutous, but nothing more. Then, he felt a cold metal against his cheek, cutting him slowly. He pulled away, sliding a few feet back. Kyaouraku's zanpakutou dripped lightly with blood. Neji touched his cheek. It was only a shallow cut, but still a cut. He smirked.

"I have to admit… you are better than that other one."

Kyaouraku's eyes widened, concerned. "Other one?" _Could it be…?_

The semi-Hollow pointed to behind Kyaouraku. He turned around reluctantly. Sitting there, damaged, sat Ise Nanao. Her violet eyes were blank, her glasses on her nose in an obscure fashion that she would never be caught dead in. "Nanao…" From the distance, he could sense that she was still alive, but her reiatsu was miniscule. Shunsui looked at Neji coldly. Neji's smirk got bigger, showing pure white teeth. "I suppose… there is no choice." Shunsui pointed both of his zanpakutous at him. "I will have to defeat you… quickly."

Neji disappeared to appear behind Kyaouraku. "After." The shinobi then charged at Ukitake. Ukitake stood, about to summon his shikai's ability when…

He let one of his blades drop, burying its tip deeply into the wooden floor. He covered his mouth with his hand. _Not now!_ But, his illness did not listen to him. He could feel the blood, swirling and quickly climbing his throat. Neji did not stop. Shunsui moved quickly; if he was going to save his friend, he had to move fast.

---------

Zaraki stared. From far away, it had looked like a real shinobi, waiting. But now that he could see it close up, he wondered how he could have been fooled by such a stupid joke. The wooden doll stood beside the railing, with the dumbest expression on its face. Stuck it its forehead was a note. It read: 'Fooled you sucker!' Zaraki decided to mutilate the thing right there, right now. He took out his zanpakutou. However, Yachiru stood in between him and his firewood. "No! Ken-chan! I want to take it back! I want to use it on Q-ball!" Zaraki growled, never letting the doll free from his menacing glare. "Move. You don't need this thing. You can just bite that Ikkaku on the head." Yachiru stopped her protest for a moment to think about the shiny head. This was when Zaraki lunged to attack his wooden offender. It easily fell off the railing, cut into half.

"AAAAAH! THE DOLL!"

Though this was something Zaraki imagined Yachiru would say, it wasn't her voice. It was a bit lower and more mature. So who the hell was it? The answer to his question landed in front of him, cursing and pouting in a very un-Hollow like way.

The woman in front of him (or at least he thought it was a woman), crossed her arms in front of her chest, obviously upset. With her Hollow mask, it made her pouting look comical since they were so contrasting. The spiky black hair stood this way and that, not as extreme as Zaraki's hairstyle, but certainly not very lady-like. Her cool black eyes glared at him.

"You killed my doll. Prepare to die."

This overall effect was destroyed when Yachiru stepped on the semi-Hollow's face, creating a groove an inch deep. "Whaaa! Ken-chan! This thing is funny! I want one!" The shinobi, losing her pride quickly, tried to scratch the lieutenant off. Before her sharp nails could reach the pink-haired girl, she leapt off, making the mark at least half an inch deeper. Zaraki stood blankly.

"What the hell is that thing?"

The semi-Hollow, furious, stomped around like a little kid with a tantrum.

"I'M NOT A THING! I'M A 'WHO'! I AM A REAL LIVE 'WHO'!"

There was a moment silence. The shinobi cleared her throat. "Anyways, I am Mitarashi Anko. You will be killed by me." Zaraki grinned. As if he would let such a weirdo beat him. He dragged his zanpakutou along the ground, letting the metal grate against the hard wood. "Bring it freak."

-----------

Gai and Kakashi stood together, further apart from Tsunade. "We must go in Kakashi," Gai said, not being his usual over-enthusiastic self, "Do you not wish to save the students? Possibly the shinigami?" Kakashi closed his orange book. He would have to leave the beautiful maiden and the handsome protagonist in a… well… perverted place.

"Let's go."

-------------

"Renji?"

"Yeah?"

"I take it back about your eyebrows being scary. His is scarier."

And he was right. The semi-Hollow stood in a common fighting stance. Ichigo had figured that it was probably not a Vaizard. However, it was one of the oddest looking mix between a shinobi and a Hollow. He had all the characteristics of a Hollow: the white mask, predatory eyes, and overly large teeth. But some features failed to strike fear into challengers. For example, the strangely _shaped _eyes. They were Hollow-like, but the way they were so round and… _weird_ offset the whole thing for Ichigo. For Renji, it was the eyebrows. The white substance had fallen short of covering the caterpillar eyebrows. They now squirmed under the shinobi's command, filling Renji with dread and disgust. He shuddered. _It looks like that other guy's…_ Ichigo meanwhile, had switched his observation to one thing. It was causing him to twitch badly. The green leotard. It was…

ABSOLUTELY FREAKIN' EYE-BURNING!

He couldn't BELIEVE that stores would sell that! They should outlaw those things! He wouldn't be caught DEAD in one of those. Renji patted Ichigo on the back, as if understanding. "I agree."

The shinobi didn't seem to be aware of the criticism he was going through in their mind. He just stood in the same way. "You are both lacking the fire of youth! I must fight you to restore it!" Renji and Ichigo stared. Renji shook his head. "Dude that is the worst fight scene line ever." But the semi-Hollow didn't flinch. He continued to bore a hole in them with his unblinking stare. Ichigo grinned, reaching for Zangetsu.

"Come on. The guy's serious. Let's see what he can do."

The shinobi smiled approvingly. Renji grinned. "Fine… Let's do this."

**Yay! I'm sorry this chapter is short AGAIN. I can't seem to make long chapters any more! It's getting me even more HIGH! (starts twitching and giggling) SO PPL! HOW DID YOU LIKE THAT! (twitch) I TRIED MY BEST YOU KNOW! BUT IF YOU DON'T THINK SO, DIEEEE! (twitch)**

**-few minutes after-**

**Sorri, im calm now. Anyways, review review review! Tell me ur opinions and all that! Unfortunately, I'll be ending (or try to end) this shinigami vs shinobi arc! Sorri to all those who wanted more! But don't worry! There's plenty of more action to come up!**

**So review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A special message to Handsome Blue Beast: hi! I'm really glad that u like my fic so much! And you should kno, I ALWAYS reply my reviewers' reviews. Makes me feel happy loll. Anyways, I hope you like this next chapter.**

**Ahem. So…**

**Yay! It's the beginning of the final chapter of the shinigami vs shinobi! I'm sorri if everything was so short for you guys. It's just that u kno, this isn't the main thing, so I don't want to focus so much on this lol. Hope you guys don't get too disappointed or anything. Anyways, let's begin!**

**After the disclaimer.**

**I don't own bleach. If I did, hitsugaya would be in EVERY episode.**

"Shit."

Ichigo looked at his useless left wrist. It hung in a strange angle, one that obviously wasn't what it was supposed to be. He didn't bother trying to move it. _O well…At least I can still carry Zangetsu in one hand._ He carefully shifted his weight over to his right. He winced when he felt the small pain in his left.

"Yo. Ichigo. You all right?"

Ichigo wiped the blood flowing down from his forehead. "Ya. Fine." Renji nodded, turning back to the eyebrow-shinobi. He had been faster than they had expected, but the shunpo had helped them catch up to his abnormal speed. He tightened his grip around Zambimaru. "You're alright you know that eyebrow man?"

The shinobi grinned, nearly blinding the shinigami with his row of teeth. "You are filled with youth yourself." Renji paused, not quite sure what it meant, but felt good about it. "Well let's get started again." Without any more warning, Renji pulled back his zanpakutou over his head. "Hoeru! Zambimaru!"

Lee ducked under the fast approaching blades, charging at Ichigo. Ichigo slashed down at the green beast of Konoha. Renji looked over at Ichigo. The pieces of the floor and dust flew around, blocking most of the figure from view. Renji squinted. Then he got ready with Zambimaru. _He's fast._

Ichigo was staring at nothing except for the cracked floor. He turned his head this way and that, trying to find his opponent. _Shit! Where is he?_ Ichigo flinched. "Don't move." Nevertheless, Ichigo did turn his head. The semi-Hollow had a kunai pointed to his throat, ready to strike down any time. Ichigo stared at Lee. He was so fast! He had seen Lee, right below him, but at the speed that Zangetsu was coming down, he shouldn't have been able to dodge it! But Lee was momentarily distracted. "I did it! I've beaten them! I did it!" The orange-haired shinigami had a sweat drop on his head. How could this shinobi be so good, so serious, but so awkward? "H-hey… ya… good job." The walking eyebrows in green leotard continued to jump around.

"Hoeru Zambimaru!"

Lee moved out of the way, landing several feet away from Ichigo. Ichigo glared up at Renji, Zangetsu parrying one of Zambimaru's many blades. "Idiot. Are you trying to hit me or him?" Renji scoffed, coming beside Ichigo.

"It's not my fault! He's too fast! Besides, you could have dodged that!" Renji swung Zambimaru carelessly over his back. Ichigo didn't say anything. Then he spoke, deciding on their basic motive. "We have to slow him down." The 6th squad lieutenant became serious. "How?" Both shinigami didn't say anything. Lee waited patiently.

"I don't know. I didn't come that far."

Renji face vaulted. "Don't say things like that when you don't even have a basic plan!" Ichigo immediately shoved his face into Renji's. "Shut up! I don't see you coming up with a plan!" They both growled, like they always do. Lee silently undid his bandages.

"It's time."

The two shinigami looked at Lee in confusion. "Wha-" That's all Renji got out before he was lifted up into the air by a kick on the chin. "Hey!" Ichigo tried to follow, but stopped when he realized he had fallen onto his butt. He would need both hands to get up with Zangetsu too far to use. _Damn it…_ Lee appeared below Renji as he began to fall. Renji tried to turn in confusion. But he was tightly wrapped in Lee's bandages. "What is this!" He struggled, but to no avail.

Lee began to spin them around and around, going faster and faster. Realization struck Renji. _He's going to crash us to the ground for a direct fall!_ Renji tried harder to remove his bonds, but failed. He could just barely move.

"Secondary Lotus!"

----------

Rukia felt intruded upon. The semi-Hollow's body had fallen unconscious in the ice, but she had done something. She could see everything, think the same way. But her movements were jerky, as if she was fighting herself to move. And she was. When she tried to step back, her body tried to step forward. Also, there was the presence.

It kept beating against her mind, threatening to break down the barrier between her and this _thing_. It felt like her head would pop from all the pressure.

_Let go… Relax… Sleep… Let me…borrow your body…Let go…Relax…_

Rukia struggled with the voice. _I can't… I won't…I have too many things to go back to, too many people to see, if I even slip a little bit…_Rukia gripped her head. It was pounding, and everything was losing focus. _I can't…_

"NO!"

Rukia knelt down on the ground, gasping and panting. She felt sweat forming on her hands. She had almost lost. She had… almost…

_I almost lost everything. Every memory, every feeling, every sense, every place, every person… Rukongai… Soul Society… Renji… Nii-sama… Kaien-dono… Ichigo…Everything…If I don't have these things… at least… what will I have to look back to once all is lost? Nothing. I…_

Ino stirred. It seemed as if she had come back to consciousness. Her face could not be seen, since she had it in her hands. Rukia prepared herself, zanpakutou in hand. Ino slowly raised her head. Rukia's eyes widened.

The white substance easily slid off of the kuinochi's features. Ino rubbed her head, confusion in her blue eyes.

"What… is going on?"

At that time, Hinata arrived.

---------

Ice was slowly receding… Almost unbearably slowly. Shikamaru's eyes bore into Hitsugaya's, willing him to hurry up. The Cero was still in his mouth. The captain's green eyes remained stoic and cold, but the ice still disappeared at the same rate. The semi-Hollow glared. Hitsugaya glared back.

"It would be more comfortable to do this… if I wasn't in such an awkward position."

Shikamaru made a sound in his throat that sounded like scoff. His Hollow eyes said it all. _You expect me to believe that?_ Hitsugaya smirked. "Maybe." There was silence again after that. The ice had lowered itself to Shikamaru's knees, but it was still too strong for the shinobi to break. The white-haired captain noticed the Cero starting to dissipate, calming him down. _At least he's getting rid of that… But there's still a high risk of dying in this situation…_ The ice continued its wary journey.

"Hey! Shikamaru? What's going on?"

Both shinobi and shinigami turned to the newcomer, except that Hitsugaya was facing the wrong way. It was another Konoha shinobi though. However, what set him apart was that he was riding a huge dog. The little captain could distinguish that because of the sideways of a dog he caught, with a partial of a leg in his sight. Hitsugaya blinked. Modes of transportation were more primitive here than he thought. The new shinobi turned to Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru? What… what happened to you?"

The semi-Hollow grinned and opened his mouth to speak.

This was all Hitsugaya needed.

In a flash, there stood a frozen statue of a Hollow shinobi standing in the crumbling training center. It shone in the afternoon sun. Hitsugaya sighed as the shadow combining his to Shikamaru's disappeared. He stretched, putting Hyourinmaru back into his sheath. He couldn't relax for long though. He was immediately grabbed roughly by the shoulders and shook by the new shinobi.

"What do you think you're doing! Are you trying to kill him?"

The red triangles on the shinobi's cheek made his already animal like features bolder. In other words, it made him look even angrier. Hitsugaya rolled his eyes and slapped a hand away from his shoulder. "Idiot. I'm not trying to kill him. This is too basic to kill anybody." The hands went limp, allowing the genius to face his ice statue. It began cracking, the deep lines moving from the head to the feet. In a moment, ice flew everywhere to melt in the sun. Shikamaru stood for a moment, finally mask-less. Then, like every normal unconscious person, he went down. Hitsugaya caught him midway. He turned his icy eyes to the dog-riding shinobi.

"Get some medics. Quick."

----------

Matsumoto stood on top of the unconscious shinobi. However, she leapt off, realizing he was quickly shrinking back into his normal size. She didn't miss the main event though. The slimy white substance peeled off of the face, lying on the ground in an unappealing pile. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. She supposed she would have to take that with her for evidence. She sighed. She didn't like dirty work.

----------

Neji had frozen.

It wasn't because Shunsui stood between him and Ukitake, but because of what he was seeing.

Ukitake was coughing still, blood overflowing his hand. Some dripped onto the floor, causing a puddle to form. Neji stared. This was… something familiar… he had seen it before. From where he wasn't sure, but he had definitely seen this from somewhere before. He continued to stare as Ukitake removed his hand from his mouth, showing the blood that had leaked from the side of his mouth as well. He looked at the figure, blood dripping from the mouth, a puddle forming in front. Slowly, he began to move forward. Shunsui regarded him cautiously. He hadn't sensed any killing intent when he had stepped closer to Ukitake, but you could never be too careful.

Neji stopped in front of the puddle. He crouched down and touched it. It stained his white fingers red. He experimentally touched it again. Then, he closed his hand into a fist, and held it out. He hadn't done it before. Someone else had done it. He couldn't remember. Nevertheless, he knew he had observed someone else doing this. Was it to him? He stared at the blood dripping from his hand. _It's an oath._ Yes, it was an oath. To what though? He opened his hand again, all red from the blood now. _An oath to…_

He never finished his thought. Neji fell forward at Ukitake's feet, unconscious. The white mask became liquid and seeped between the cracks of the wood.

"Sorry Neji-san." Ukitake and Shunsui looked at the jounin. The shinobi pulled out a book from his back pocket. "But it looked like you were going to kill important guests." Kakashi flipped open to a certain page, and hummed to himself as he began reading about his perverted little world.

--------

"GO KEN-CHAN!"

A part of the ceiling fell on Anko as Yachiru cheered. Luckily for Anko, she was quick enough to dodge it. That didn't mean the danger was over though. There was even more falling debris now. Zaraki's attack had started a cascade of roof tiles, falling randomly and cracking. Zaraki lifted his zanpakutou. "Not bad."

Anko smiled. "You're wrong. I'm not good." Anko was suddenly standing on Kenpachi's shoulders. "I'm bad." She threw a kunai at his unprotected head. She smiled. _First blood… goes to me._ However, this wasn't what fate had in store for her. Fate was planning a much crueler and unfortunate series of events.

She had unfortunately underestimated Zaraki's speed. Before she knew it, a zanpakutou had come over Zaraki's head; blocking the kunai and sending it right back at Anko.

If she hadn't been gloating at her 'success', she might have dodged it. But today was not her day. The dull side of the kunai hit Anko on the forehead, causing a classic K.O. Zaraki turned and stared at the kuinochi. The mask had disappeared, sitting beside her head with Yachiru already poking at it with a stick. Zaraki scratched his head.

"The freakin' hell…"

And this was how Kurenai found them: a large devilish looking man hovering over an unconscious Anko, with a pink-haired little girl playing in his shadow. You can guess who she thought was the victim.

---------

Renji climbed out of the crater, dazed but completely unharmed. Ichigo blinked from his front row seat. "What the… Hey Renji! Are you okay?" Renji stood beside the crater, confused, with Zambimaru in his hand. "Y-yeah… I'm fine. I think." He scratched his head, obviously baffled. Hadn't he just been going on a ride from hell to the ground? Then why wasn't he hurt? And where was the semi-Hollow?

"I see my skill has saved you shinigami!"

Renji turned to see the freaky shinobi from before. The eyebrows made him twitch involuntarily. _Hairy… eyebrows…_ Ichigo also recognized the shinobi. "You're the shinobi from before…" He stopped. He couldn't remember his name. Gai looked behind him at Ichigo and smiled his blinding smile. Ichigo blinked a couple of times, seeing spots. At that moment, Lee walked out of the dust.

Gai turned his attention back to Lee, losing all of his cheerfulness. "Lee! I thought I told you! You may only use Lotus to protect an important person! You may NEVER use it for harm against the innocent!" The semi-Hollow only stared. "Who are you?"

Gai stood, amazed. _He has forgotten who I am! _Gai had never dreamt it in a million years. His greatest student… had forgotten him. "I see." Gai looked down at the ground. "Then I have no choice." He glared at Lee, as if he were a true enemy. "I shall defeat you! And get Lee back!" Soon after, Gai began to glow with a green aura. Both Ichigo and Renji observed quietly. _Is this… his reiatsu?_ Ichigo's eyes widened. It kept increasing too! Renji was in a similar state of shock. The way his reiatsu kept climbing, it was disturbing. It was like seeing Zaraki Kenpachi when he was serious.

"Fifth Gate! Open!"

Gai shot up with powerful green chakra. He looked at Lee with white eyes like Neji. "I shall get you back Lee!" He immediately appeared below Lee and kicked him up, the same way that Lee did with Renji. "Primary Lotus!"

Ichigo and Renji watched the show as Gai went back and forth in high speed, kicking and punching Lee in mid-air. Finally, Gai sent a final kick down to Lee, causing a great crash on the earth. The two shinigami blocked the wind and pieces of the floor as best as they could.

When all the dust had disappeared, Gai stood beside his crater. He looked down at his unconscious student. The mask had disappeared. He sighed.

"It's over."

----------

Gin's smile widened. "Well, I guess that's the shinobi fer ya…" He crushed the now useless piece of machinery. He was satisfied with when he had pressed 'the pretty button'. He jumped up to the black hole which connected the material world to Hueco Mondo. He glanced back at the village.

"See ya… Konoha."

**Doooooooooooneeeeeee! That was quite long for a hurried finishing up chapter lol. Anyways, other stuff will start soon now. Sorri if u guys thought that it ended too fast. So the next chapter will be beginning a new arc! YAAAAAAA! Aren't you guys happy! If you're wondering, I'm sugar high on cookies again.**

**And I know this is random, but Omg! Has anyone read the recent bleach manga chapter (ch 224)? POOR HITSU-CHAN! How could Hinamori be so NAÏVE! Don't worry to the ppl who read it. I won't make Hinamori like that. Oh, didn't I tell u that Hinamori would be in here too? Well I guess u kno now lol. Expect the next chapter soon!**

**And OMG! The amount of review i get for one chapter keeps going down! its gone down to 7! can u believe it ppl? it was 14 too...so sad -eats cookie to comfort self- is it because i update too fast? aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! so depressed. not quite my sugar-high self -sniff- o well... ill see... **


	9. Chapter 9

**Yes, it's the beginning of chapter nine **

**Enjoy.**

**I don't own bleach. But who doesn't wish they could?**

All the shinigami and shinobi involved in the collapse of the chuunin training center lounged in the hospital room. But that didn't mean that they were all at ease or even relaxed.

Rukia was sitting on a chair next to the sleeping Ino with a bandage on her arm. She looked at the kuinochi sadly. Ichigo and Renji were both sitting on a couch, both half-lying down and both stressed. Shunsui sat beside Ise, worried. Ukitake stood next to him and Neji's bed. Matsumoto was in a fitful sleep. Zaraki Kenpachi, after getting mistakenly attacked by Kurenai, was sitting on the floor with Yachiru, pissed off and bored. Even Yachiru was quiet for once. Hitsugaya leaned against the window next to Shikamaru's bed. There was complete silence in the room.

The door to the large chamber opened to reveal Sakura with a statistics report on her clipboard. Every shinigami, including Matsumoto since she woke up, turned to look at her. Sakura felt nervous with all of them looking like that; they weren't even talking to each other like they normally do. _Gee…I feel so bad for interrupting when I really didn't do anything…_ She quietly walked over to the first patient on her list, Ino.

She looked at her friend. She was sleeping deeply and well. She was glad for that. She glanced at the report to see that she hadn't taken any serious wounds. Sakura nodded and set the IV again.

"Is she… alright?"

Sakura looked over to the shinigami, Rukia. Rukia looked extremely upset and worried. Sakura smiled for her. "Of course. She's not in any danger." Her eyes strayed to the bandage on Rukia's arm. She itched to heal it, but Tsunade-sama had specifically said not to heal the shinigami since they could possibly damage the soul. She moved on. This time it was Shikamaru.

She checked the report thoroughly. It said that he had been suffering under mild frost bites on his hand and his feet, but he was fine now, only sleeping. She frowned though. She looked outside to where the weather was relatively fine. It was spring time too. _So where did he get the frost-bite?_ Sakura looked at the little captain. The captain stared back, but didn't say anything. She dropped her gaze and went on to Neji.

Neji had avoided much damage. Only a few minor cuts, but they had already been healed. He was to wake up soon since Kakashi had only knocked him out lightly. Another white-haired captain looked at her and smiled. She smiled back, grateful that she was welcome to at least one person.

Chouji was sleeping as well. He had some cuts though. They weren't really minor either. But they were not dangerous. The medic-nin looked at Matsumoto. She looked distracted, playing with her long tresses, unknowingly pushing forward her assets. Sakura sighed and wrote a note on the report.

Lee was doing well too. His muscles were recovering faster due to Tsunade's newly developed method of treating senkkai gate openers. Sakura checked off 'recovered' on her paper. She looked at the shinigami that had gone against him. They had taken barely any damage. _They would have to be quite skilled to avoid injury with Lee-san…_ She shook her head and went to her next patient.

This one wasn't doing so well. It was the shinigami that had been attacked by Neji in his 'Hollow-state' as the shinigami had said. Her internal organs had been much damaged, but none of the medic-nins wanted to risk healing her either. Souls were delicate things. She sighed. The shinigami was in a critical state, but she could not heal her.

"Will she survive?"

She looked at the flamboyantly dressed man. She looked back at her patient. She didn't know what to say. Should she lie? But what if the shinigami didn't survive? Then she would be a definite liar. "She…"

"Sakura!"

Sakura turned gladly to the door. Tsunade stood there. "I have a shinigami healer. He'll help with the injured shinigami." She moved to the side to let him in.

Ichigo blinked. "EH? Hanatarou?" Hanatarou bowed. "Hello Kurosaki-san! I'm here to help." His tired looking face surveyed the scene. Then he found the bandage on Ichigo's wrist. "You've gotten hurt Kurosaki-kun!" Ichigo looked at his bandage, having forgotten that he had injured himself. "Huh? O ya. It's nothing." But Hanatarou was already on it. He focused his reiatsu onto his hands, then to Ichigo's wrist. A minute after, he removed them. "There that should be enough." And sure enough, his wrist was fine. Ichigo moved it around experimentally. "Thanks."

Sakura watched. The speed of the healing was amazing! It was very similar to their healing methods. She decided that she would ask whether shinobi could heal shinigami or not later.

Hanatarou found Rukia also. "Kuchiki-san!" Rukia smiled at him. "Nice to see you again Hanatarou." Hanatarou bowed again. "May I heal your arm?" Rukia nodded. He set to work on healing. As with Ichigo, it didn't last long. The bandage was immediately off of Rukia's completely healed arm. Next was Ise Nanao.

The 4th squad member frowned. Shunsui addressed the 7th seat. "What is her condition?" Hanatarou jumped, startled. When he began breathing normally again, he addressed Shunsui's feet. "Ano… I will do what I can for her… but she should probably go back to Soul Society for a better treatment by Unohana-taichou…" Shunsui nodded. Hanatarou bowed before proceeding to heal Nanao to the best of his abilities.

--------

Hanatarou was soon asleep on Ise's bed, drooling a river. Sakura pulled a blanket over him. He had done much more than most had expected, healing at least four organs. She smiled when he tugged at the blanket. He deserved this sleep much more than he would think.

She looked back at the main room. All the shinobi were still asleep, but some of the shinigami had left, leaving all the captains except Zaraki. Tsunade was also there too. They seemed to be starting a meeting. Sakura stood, unsure if she was allowed to listen in. Tsunade, noticing this, nodded for her to stay.

Ukitake cleared his throat. "It seems like everyone had some trouble fighting our opponents today." There was no said agreement, though Shunsui nodded and Hitsugaya grunted. Tsunade just watched, sipping some tea. Ukitake turned to Hitsugaya. "Hitsugaya-taichou, do you have a report prepared?" From out of no where, Hitsugaya pulled a thick stack of paper and handed it to Ukitake. Ukitake nodded his thanks. He flipped through them, reading bits and pieces to himself. He then placed it on the table in the middle of them. "Do we have any comments on the incident today?" There was a silence. Ukitake just nodded. "I see… well, I do have an opinion… and a proposal." This perked the interest of the authority figures.

"I believe that today's incident could have been prevented, in the least, shrunk, if the shinobi knew some kidou."

Hitsugaya's green eyes became even wider. "Ukitake! Do you realize what this means? And the barrier was not truly a kidou. More of a bougyoudo, the miscellaneous arts. Even if you plan to teach them only bougyoudo, I doubt the commander will let you." Sakura stood, shocked. She had no idea the shinigami attacks were that complex too! Then again, shinobi had various types of attacks too. Ukitake sighed. He tried smiling, though failing miserably under the stress.

"But there is no other way Hitsugaya-kun. We do not know when something like this will happen again. Also, I believe it will come in useful. We will not teach all of them everything. Only a few select shinobi that the Hokage picks." He nodded at Tsunade in acknowledgement. Tsunade took another drink before speaking. "But to confirm, are you sure that my shinobi can even learn this kidou?" she voiced. Ukitake nodded.

"As long as they have enough chakra, they would be able to perform kidou."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was listening to a whole revolutionary movement! They were going to learn kidou! They would be like shinigami! She didn't know if she should be excited or dreading this new tactic.

Hitsugaya still looked unsatisfied. "But who would teach them? You are aware that all the Kidou Ops are too busy to spare time to tutor some shinobi. We do not have anyone left with time anymore." At this Ukitake slowly smiled. "You are not aware then… Hitsugaya-kun." He turned to Shunsui who also smiled.

"Hanatarou-san kindly informed me a while ago, before he fell asleep."

His green eyes could not possibly get any wider. "You mean…!" Sakura's curiosity overcame her. She had rarely seen Hitsugaya so surprised.

"Ano… My apologies. But who could this person be?'

Hitsugaya's expression immediately became blank. His green eyes had dulled. He opened his mouth.

"Hinamori."

Ukitake took full control of the situation. "Now then, we have it settled. We will write a proposal and have it delivered to Soul Society." Shunsui raised his hand like a school student. "I say let's have the 4th division member deliver it for us. He can take Nanao-chan with him!" he said. Ukitake nodded in agreement. "Of course."

"Also," Hitsugaya continued, "the substance that was collected from the training center."

All three captains began to write an official letter while Tsunade looked over her list of potential shinobi. Sakura went home, wondering if she should tell Naruto and Sasuke.

---------

"What is this?"

Hanatarou trembled. Why had the captains chosen him? Him? Of all people!

"Ano… It is…"

Hanatarou was stopped by Byakuya's cold 'I know what it is peasant' glare. Byakuya read it over again. He set it down in silence, further making the atmosphere uncomfortable. "I see. I will present it to the commander." Byakuya glared at Hanatarou. Nearly screaming like a little girl, Hanatarou ran out of the office.

Byakuya glared at the piece of statement in front of him. Not that it burst into flames or anything. It lay there, quietly and innocently. He looked at who had signed it. Ukitake Jyuushiro, Kyaouraku Shunsui, and Hitsugaya Toushirou. Typical. They were always working together for things like these. He also noticed a piece of paper stuck to the back of it. He took it off carefully.

_Please bring Hinamori-kun with you!_

_Ukitake_

Byakuya twitched. Beside Ukitake's signature was a happy blushing smiley. It annoyed him to no end. He wanted to scratch it out badly. He looked from the brush sitting idly on his desk, to the smiley. His violet eyes lost all resolve though. He wouldn't bring himself down to such a level. Instead, he glared down the shinigami passing by his office to a halt. The unfortunate victim started sweating already.

"Ano… yes? Kuchiki-taichou? Did I do something wrong? I apologize profusely. I did not mean it. I only wanted to-"

"Tea."

The shinigami blinked. "Pardon me?" The captain pointed to his empty tea cup. "I said tea. More tea." The shinigami surly grabbed the tea cup and bowed his way out. Kuchiki sat down more comfortably, relaxing as much as someone that uptight could. _I hope he knows which tea I drink…I must have Abarai back soon to bring me my tea._

---------

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING!"

Sakura punched Naruto in the jaw. "Be quiet Naruto. We're right here, we can hear you fine." Naruto pried himself loose from the wall he had just destroyed badly. He rubbed his quickly swelling jaw. "Fine…" He walked over to the group of shinobi again. This consisted of team Kakashi, team Kurenai, team Gai, and the shinobi who were involved in the shinigami fights were all there. Which was everyone. Sasuke cleared his throat.

"So you are telling us that you don't remember ANYTHING from the fights?" The group shook their heads. "But you do remember being in the training center and the hospital?" They nodded at the same time. "You don't remember even the smallest details?" They shook their heads. Sasuke sighed. He felt like he was talking to a bunch of one-minded idiots. Sakura tried this time.

"Okay well, I'll tell you who you were up against, and maybe it'll ring some bells!" She took out a small notepad. "So, Ino, you were up against the shinigami Kuchiki Rukia. She's the small girl with violet eyes and black hair. Anything?" Ino shook her blond head. "O well. Shikamaru, you fought Hitsugaya Toushirou. He's the little one with white hair and green eyes." Shikamaru sat looking at the clouds silently. "Shikamaru…?" Shikamaru suddenly jumped.

"Sorry, what?"

Sakura had a little vein about to pop, but she smiled. "Oh nevermind…" She went to Lee. "Lee, you were-" Someone tapped her shoulder, interrupting her. Tenten then whispered in her ear. "I don't think you should be talking to him right now… He's still upset after hearing that he fought Gai-sensei…" Sakura looked at Lee. That explained the lack of smiles and 'youth' in general. She could practically see the rain clouds above him. "Well… I guess it's clear none of you really remember." The shinobi that fought all had sweat drops. "We told you that before…" they all muttered.

"A-ano… w-w-why are we a-all t-trying to g-get them t-t-to r-remember?"

Everyone was surprised that Hinata had spoken up, but could barely understand the sentence because of the stutters. "I'm sorry, but could you repeat that?" Sakura said. Hinata turned red at just the thought of repeating all those words. Fortunately, Neji spoke up for her. "She said why are you guys trying to get us to remember?" This immediately brought seriousness to team seven.

"Because… we're curious…"

The rest of them stared at the lack of explanations. "Why don't you guys just spy on them? It can't be that hard." Tenten said. Naruto jumped on the idea. "It is! I tried spying on that white-haired dude, not the short one, and he figured out where I was hiding!" Sasuke smirked. "Dead-last, you know you're the loudest shinobi in all of Konoha. I'm not surprised…" Naruto huffed.

"Well you didn't succeed with freaky eyebrows…" It was Sasuke's turn to get angry, except it came in the form of a glare and sulk. Sakura laughed nervously. "Come one you guys, cheer up! They're just kind of good that's all…"

"How good?"

The whole group jumped, or yelped, whichever was their style. Or just sat there like a piece of rock (like Sasuke and Neji). Everyone turned to look at the newcomer. Naruto laugh. "Hey! It's Gaara!"

"With Kankarou and Temari."

They looked behind Gaara to see the rest of the sand siblings. Gaara did his typical cool guy stand with his gourd while looking dangerous at the same time. Naruto wished he could look like that. "So what brings you here?" asked Sakura. His pale green eyes looked at the Hokage's building.

"Business."

----------

"Konbai!"

Matsumoto took yet another swig from her cup. "More please!" she roared. She hiccoughed and started giggling. Her face was a tell-tale red. Renji, her new drinking partner, was a quieter drunk. But nonetheless, his face was as crimson as his hair, making him look like a tomato. He hiccoughed. "Matsumoto… I think… I wanna stop nowww…" Matsumoto did an overly shocked face. "NO WAY!" She slurred, "You can't stop now! Here… have some more! Konbai!" She took another drink and started laughing. "We're celebrating here carrot-tops! Celebrate! We didn't –hic- die!" She giggled at her stoic captain. "Taichouuu… have some sake… it won't hurt to have some! About time you had it too…" She started to pour some into his cup, but he put a hand over it. The people at the other table stared at her like she was crazy. Feeding a ten-year old sake! The very thought! But that didn't bother her. She resumed her happy-drunk phase.

At the other table, Jiraiya was having a writer's block. More like a pervert's block, but either worked for him. He tapped his finger in frustration. _What should they do after that move? The flow must be perfect!_ Then his wandering eyes landed on a lovely woman figure. It was really the chest of the woman, but to him, it was everything. He stood up, mouth open, nose bleeding profusely and drooling.

"Oh no! You're bleeding! Are you okay mister?" the serving girl passing by asked. Jiraiya wiped his nose and mouth. He moved blindly to the busty woman a few tables away. Unknowingly, he had come in a little too quickly, a little too rashly. He met Matsumoto's sturdy fist head on with his already bleeding nose. Jiraiya landed on the ground with a thud. Hitsugaya leaned over from where he was sitting. Matsumoto was still drinking her sake as if nothing had happened. Renji had a dopey expression on his face that clearly said that he had no idea of the events that had just passed. The perverted sannin twitched lamely on the ground.

"Oi… is he okay?"

----------

"Welcome Kazekage. You got my mail I suppose?"

Gaara didn't move from his seat. "I suppose that's the reason why I'm here, is it not?" Tsunade flinched inwardly. _Ouch… cold…_ She cleared her throat. "So… let's get on top of things. We may need Sand's devoted help in this matter again…"

The Kazekage's gaze was fixed on the window, but his attention was entirely on the Hokage. "Hn." Tsunade shook her head. Even after he died, he was still stoic. She was about to speak again when he spoke first. "I assume… Tsunade-sama… that I must lend you some Sand shinobi… even if most are busy in the Sand." Tsunade smiled, grateful. She knew he would come through.

"Therefore, you shall have Temari and Kankurou."

Tsunade raised her eyebrow. To lend his own siblings! They were quite strong too…

"Also, myself. I shall see you a few days later than."

Before the Fifth could say anything more, Gaara had disappeared in a whirlwind of sand. She sighed and looked distastefully at the specks of sand quickly sinking in her cup of water. _Children are so impudent._

**Yay! Done! I'm sorry for the late update, but I COULD NOT SIGN IN TO FANFIC! I REPEAT, I COULDN'T SIGN IN! So, I took that time to look at the chapter more and catch up to some anime. Mostly catching up to anime. So yes, I finally hav matsumoto in there (I think it was qwerty who kept telling me to) so yep, I hope you're all happy hehe and just a notice, the next chapter will take place a week or so AFTER this one. So here it is again: A WEEK OR SO AFTER. Take this in mind ppl! And thank u to all those who reviewed lol.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Yay! Chapter 10 hehe…**

**Oh yes, and just to remind you yet AGAIN, the story takes place A WEEK AFTER THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER. Just so you aren't confused lol. And a warning to all the romance haters, there mite be a bit of hitsugaya and hinamori moment. It's not REALLI hitsuhina, well if you squint super duper hard it is, but ya. Sorry if you don't like those things lol. **

Renji slurped down the ramen in one gulp. He sighed, drank the water quickly, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He then slapped Ichigo on the back. "Hurry up! We're going to be late!" Ichigo choked and coughed irritably. He gulped down a cup of water with desperation. Realizing that the noodle had finally gone down, he gave Renji a death glare.

"What'd you that for? You want to kill me or something? I could have died on that ramen idiot!"

Renji shouted back just as forcefully. "Not my fault! Matsumoto told me not to be late today! She said there was something important! It's your fault for eating so slowly!" And like this, they started to bicker. The store owner sighed. Naruto was noisy, sure, but even he was better than them. It was all Naruto's fault for introducing them to this shop a week ago. Things were going so smoothly, but lately, customers had had a habit of leaving when they arrived. He cried private tears of remorse while his daughter patted his back.

"Hey! You guys!" The two arguing shinigami turned to Naruto. He was twirling a giant shuriken on his finger, having come back from a morning shuriken warm-up. "Don't you guys have to go to baa-chan's office? You're late!" Renji quickly paid with some yen. "Shit! Now look what you did Ichigo!" He began to run past the grinning Naruto. Ichigo followed. "ME? What about you?"

They argued all the way to the office. Naruto shook his head. _They should enjoy the ramen more. If they did at least that, they wouldn't argue so much._

---------

"WE'RE HERE!"

Renji slammed the door open. Tsunade had a vein about to pop. "Shut up and sit down! You're late!" The two shinigami slinked in as quietly as possibly after causing such a racket. From there, they were under Rukia's torture.

"You guys are late! How irresponsible of you guys! I can't believe it! Didn't we tell you not to be late?" She hit them both on the head simultaneously. "Both of you are not worthy enough for trust!" Ichigo shouted back almost before she had finished her sentence. "Be quiet! It's not my fault! Renji just choked me at that ramen stand, so we took longer!"

Rukia turned her gaze to Renji. Renji began to panic. "It isn't that! He was eating so slow! I couldn't stand it!" The two fierce shinigami began to argue yet AGAIN. Rukia twitched. Once. Twice. Three times. Trouble.

"Shut up! Both of you!"

She stood on their heads, the heads smoking from the burning hit she had given them. "Now stay quiet!" Ukitake observed this with a sweat drop. Shunsui chuckled. "Young love eh?"

At that moment, a senkai mon formed beside them. The door opened slowly, letting a few hellmoths fly in various directions. Ichigo's and Renji's eyes bulged.

"Byakuya!"

Rukia realized it about the same time they did. "Nii-sama!"

Yes indeed, it was Byakuya. He stood there, coldly taking in the scene. His violet eyes focused on Ichigo. "You must show some respect to your elders." He said. The eyes glinted dangerously. Ichigo scratched his head awkwardly. "Uh… ya…"

Meanwhile, Renji was dying. He couldn't believe they had made his captain come over. His world was crashing around him. If he wasn't such a tough guy, he would have curled up and cried.

"Abarai."

Renji flinched. Kuchiki Byakuya looked straight at him. "Do not slump. It is unfitting for a shinigami of your status." Renji pulled out of his slump. "Yes sir." He said sadly. It was Soul Society all over again.

"Nii-sama," Rukia said, "are you the one who will be teaching kidou?" Byakuya blinked. His blank face read 'why would I waste my time teaching peasants kidou'. Rukia had a sweat drop on her head. "Ah, I see…" Instead, Byakuya gestured to the unclosed senkai mon. A lone figure stepped out before the doors snapped shut. Renji stared.

"Hinamori-kun!"

Hinamori stood timidly beside Byakuya, but smiled at Renji. "Ohayou Abarai-kun." Renji was still amazed. "You're awake! Wow! How do you feel?" Hinamori smiled. "I feel fine thank you." However, Hinamori's eyes wandered around the room. _Where is Shiro-chan? _Hinamori looked down disappointed after looking around. He wasn't here. Maybe he didn't want to see her.

"Welcome back Hinamori." Hinamori looked up, startled. Matsumoto smiled down at her. Hinamori smiled. "Arigato Matsumoto-san." Matsumoto then smiled knowingly. "I let the captain sleep in this morning. It was paperwork day for us yesterday. Of course I escaped so he had to do everything." Matsumoto winked. Hinamori was grateful for Matsumoto and smiled wider at the thought. It was their tradition to do that on paperwork day, for him to do everything while Matsumoto escaped. "You can see him now if you like." The rest of the shinigami, knowing this was a private affair, let them leave.

"Now," Tsunade said, "when should we schedule the first lesson?"

--------

Hinamori sat in the living room of the hotel room. She had been waiting for a while now. Almost an hour to be exact. Matsumoto had told her to sit and linger until he woke up, but all the suspense was killing her. She fidgeted with her shihakusho. Perhaps he knew she was out here? Is that why he wasn't coming out? Was he avoiding her? She wouldn't blame him. She sighed. She couldn't help it.

She stood up. She slowly opened the door to the first room. It was littered with make up, and bras. She shut it quickly, feeling her cheeks burn red. She guessed that was Matsumoto's room. Hinamori moved on to the next door. It was firmly shut. Hinamori put her hand on the knob. Gently, not making a sound, she twisted it and opened.

At first, she didn't see anything. Then, she could see the outline of a bed against the sunlight coming in through the window. After, the person on the bed. Hinamori knelt beside the bed. He was still sleeping.

He was wearing a lilac yukata, which had come slightly loose as he slept. His face was facing Hinamori, his great green orbs closed. His mouth was slightly parted. Hinamori smiled, looking at his hair. She guessed he never did put gel on. It was 100 natural; it was spiky even in bed. Hitsugaya's breaths came gently. She didn't remember seeing his features so relaxed or peaceful. He was always angry, or disappointed, or tired. Or sad… Hinamori's eyes began to fill with tears again. _No, I'm not going to cry here._ She hastily wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She looked into his face again, this time with determination. His innocent features filled her mind. _I won't hurt Shiro-chan again. I promise. _

Hinamori quickly left the room, leaving an inch open.

A few minutes after, Hitsugaya woke up. He rubbed his eyes, yawning. He looked at the door, which was left open. He also sensed her. His eyes became grim. _Hinamori…_ He crawled out of bed. He went to the washroom door connected to his room. He looked at himself in the mirror. _I need a break._

--------

Hinamori had heard the clatters and the clinking from the bathroom, and gotten her hopes up. But she waited forever until he came back out again. She sat straight, hoping she looked fine.

He wasn't wearing his captain's robes anymore. He was wearing a dark blue kimono, plain, but majestic. They caught sight of each other and froze.

"Ohayou… Hitsugaya-kun."

--------

Aizen listened to Tousen, amused. Gin stood at the side, grinning from ear to ear. "Really? Two allies? But they refuse to work together? My oh my. I guess we must choose."

The evil minded shinigami continued to address Tousen. "What do you think Tousen? Who do you think is the strongest?" Tousen lowered his head slightly in thought. Then, with resolve in his sightless eyes, he faced Aizen. "I believe we must follow whichever one is facing justice." Aizen smirked, his hand on his chin with his elbow on his throne. "Ever the one for fairness… Gin, do you have an opinion?"

Gin remained smiling. "You ain't asking for my opinion are you Aizen-taichou? I'm flattered. Well since you're askin'… you know li'l me… I would go fo' the one with the most potential…" Aizen's eyes glimmered. Tousen stood silently beside Gin.

"As I expected from my subordinate…"

-----------

"Excuse me? Could you repeat that?"

Neji sat, unsure if he had heard the Hokage right. Had she just said that they were going to learn 'demon magic'? The other shinobi were in a similar state of confusion. Sasuke just glared at Tsunade while Naruto perked up with interest. Meanwhile, Kiba picked his ear with his finger, just to be sure.

"I said that you will all be learning kidou from the shinigami. Namely one of them, but most of them will also be present to help you."

The whole group blinked. Tsunade's eye twitched annoyed. Hadn't they gotten the message? They were going to learn new things! Something called KIDOU! Since when had they gotten so thick?

Shikamaru cleared his throat, now fully recovered and back to his lazy genius self. "Are you saying, Tsunade-sama, that we will be learning some… urm… 'demon arts'?" Tsunade nodded, now rapidly losing her patience. Shikamaru frowned. "Is it because of that incident…?" The whole room became heavy with tension. Everyone remembered it, yet parts of it were forgotten. No one really knew the whole story except the one that the shinigami had told them. However, they hadn't been gone into great depth either. Sasuke scowled. "But why? Aren't we perfectly capable of defending ourselves as we are?" Some of the shinobi also agreed. Tsunade set her cup down none too delicately.

"If you are all so capable, why did that incident happen? The shinigami had informed me if you had known some basic kidous that we all might have avoided the disaster completely. Do you understand now?"

The whole room was silent. "Ano… but who will be teaching us? Also, how will we be able to fit this into our schedule with training and missions? Konoha is still recovering…" It was true, even though a few years had passed; Konoha was still not the same as before. Tsunade looked down at her desk. She had tried her best, and the Leaf was blooming… but… She looked up to face the group of shinobi with dead seriousness. "That is why… you will all learn this."

All of them nodded. They understood their duty to their village. "The kidou lessons will be squeezed in some time every week or so during training. Expect to stay long. Also, I will not forgive you if you do not try your hardest." Tsunade smiled after the last sentence though. She knew she didn't need to say this to these chuunins. They were the most successful of their generation. She waved her hand half-mindedly to dismiss them. The young chuunins left the office solemnly, prepared for what was to come.

"Baa-chan."

Tsunade looked up from her desk, surprised. Naruto was still sitting in his seat. "When are Gaara, Temari, and Kankurou going to get here?" Tsunade smiled knowingly. He was concerned about his friend, the Kazekage. She guessed it was because Naruto hadn't seen the sand shinobi since the Akatsuki kidnapping. "They will be here late afternoon sometime today." Naruto nodded. He got up to leave, but stopped when Tsunade continued.

"He's doing fine, by the way." Naruto paused, hand on the door knob. He smiled inwardly.

"Thanks, baa-chan."

----------

"WHAT!"

Rukia nodded solemnly. "Don't 'what' me. It's true. Even nii-sama thought you should." She continued to nod, ignoring Ichigo's reaction completely. Ichigo stamped his foot in frustration.

"Well why are you making important decisions without me! And I don't have to listen to Byakuya! What the hell!" Ichigo kicked the ground this time, causing dirt to stir. Rukia stood, undeterred. "It's because if we told you, you would say no. This is quite useful Ichigo!" Rukia nodded again, satisfied with the decision. Ichigo growled. "I oughta…"

"Ichigo…"

Ichigo turned to the sound of the depleted voice. Renji was there, rain clouds and all, looking considerably miserable. "If you don't do this… Kuchiki-taichou might take it out on me…" Renji sat in silence again, depressed. Ichigo stared with a sweat drop on his head. "Uh… right…"

"Besides," Rukia said, "you can't always be just swinging your zanpakutou around! It's a good backup to have, kidou that is." Yes, Rukia had just said that Ichigo would be learning kidou along with the shinobi. The orange-haired shinigami bristled. "Shut up! What's wrong with that? I can cause more damage with it than with some spell." Rukia shook her head. Her violet eyes stared into Ichigo's with fierce seriousness. "That isn't the point. What if you lose your zanpakutou? What defense do you have? Nothing! That is why this is important."

Rukia's violet eyes dared Ichigo to say otherwise. Ichigo decided not to. Ichigo sighed. "Still… it seems stupid that's all. I don't really need backup…" Rukia turned away. She looked down at the ground, in deep thought. If he at least knew this, it would increase his chances of survival greatly when…

"Remember, Aizen is a master of hypnosis. You don't know what he could do while you're under his spell."

"I can beat him."

The petite girl stared at him, surprised. Ichigo looked at Rukia head on, as if it were the most obvious thing in the whole world. "I can beat him." He repeated. Rukia softened. _He's not a liar… And… he does get stronger all the time… Ichigo… you can do it._

"Fine. But be at the bridge around two tomorrow. Don't be late." She jumped, landing on a railing nearby, a safe distance away. His orange hair, along with Renji's red one could still be seen. _Good luck, Ichigo._

---------

"I do not need to make ANYTHING for you!"

Ukitake sighed in frustration. Byakuya remained a standing stone while Shunsui mumbled something about sake. "But Mayuri-"

"I am FAR too busy to make some selfish contraption for you! Now bother me later!"

"Kurotsuchi Mayuri."

The 12th division looked up from the 'disconnect' button. Byakuya glared at him with utmost annoyance. "Make it. I do not have time for such nonsense." Everyone was dazed for a moment. The great Kuchiki-taichou had spoken! One sentence! It was amazing. However, Mayuri didn't stay that way for long. He snorted.

"I don't have to. I have other projects to do." He once again reached for the button but was stopped by Ukitake this time.

"We have the soutaichou's orders. If you disobey it, you will be charged for treason." The captain hissed in anger. Now he couldn't have that, could he? Mayuri turned his head to behind him. "Nemu! Come here you idiot!"

A pretty shinigami came out of the shadows. "Yes Mayuri-sama?" Mayuri continued his order, his face still contorted in fury. "Get my lab ready." The obedient daughter left, leaving Mayuri with the three captains.

"I hope you're satisfied."

With that, he slammed his fist down on the disconnect button, careful not to break any of his nails.

Back at the material world, Ukitake smiled.

"Yes I am."

**Haha! Ya! I'm sorry this chapter came later than you thought it would! Totally not my fault! I'm not a comp geek! My computer CRASHED again! Luckily, I saved all my precious documents lol. **

**So anyways, yep, I'm not giving you any clues to the next arc lol. It will really start in a couple of chapters. And also, a major spoiler, ICHIGO WILL BE IN HOLLOW STAGE IN THE NEXT ONE! Yes! Cheer! Omg! LoL!**

**Also, I've realized I haven't really replied to the anon ppl, so here u go faithful anon ppl!**

**Shippo- thank u for reviewing! And GO GAARA! (he'll be in the next chapter)**

**Raven- yay! I updated!**

**Yaoi hata- thank u so much! And I hope u like that hinamori's in here finally!**

**Shadow- thank u! and I'm not sure about the pairing… im not even sure if it'll be ichiruki in anyway…**

**Qwerty- lol! Go matsumoto! And ya, I kno gaara's a badass. That's why I love him.**

**Peter Kim- thank u for reviewing! And I haven't gone THAT in depth with ichigo's hollow, sorry. Also, I'm considering putting vaizards in here. Haven't decided yet!**

**Shelby- (I kno u reviewed for chapter 8 only, but whatever) thank u for reviewing!**

**So here you go ppl! As for pairings, I HAVE NO IDEA. I have my doubts, because I don't want this fic to go all love crazy. That would suck. Also, I'm not that good of a romance writer. But, if any of you have suggestions, I'd be more than happy to consider them! Thank u ppl! Now click that review button! You know you wanna!**


	11. Chapter 11

**So it's chapter 11 already guys! Wow!**

**So yep, im sorry for the confusion for some of u! I meant that Ichigo will be in hollow in the next ARC. I'm so sorry if you got confused! All my fault! Sorry! And also, a warning. The beginning you mite find, is a bit pointless and boring. It's all for the sake of the leftout characters tho! I realized some characters weren't in here for awhile, so I had to stick them in SOMEWHERE to say that they were still alive lol. Anyways, sorry, and enjoy! (btw, this chapter is pretty much eventless. Sorri, new arc not starting just yet!) And sorry for the overdose of hitsugaya and hinamori. I'll try to go easy on them in the next chapter.**

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Hinamori carefully licked her cotton candy stained finger. She nodded for the millionth time. "I'm sure Hitsugaya-kun. Thank you for the cotton candy."

Hitsugaya just grunted. "It's fine." He had changed back into his shinigami robes when Hinamori suggested that they go out. They had had some small talk, little things like 'are you fine' and 'how have you been'. But it still didn't satisfy Hitsugaya. He needed to-

"Waa! Shiro-chan! Look at that!" Hinamori ran off into the gathering of shops. _Shiro-chan?_ He thought, _I haven't heard that in a while…_ "Oi! Hinamori! Wait! And it's Hitsugaya-taichou!" The little captain chased after Hinamori with his 'short' legs. He finally found her squatting in front of a row of boxes. "Hey, what are you looking at?" he said, also kneeling down, not that he really needed to. Hinamori smiled.

"Aren't these so pretty?"

She pointed to the content of one of the boxes. Hitsugaya peered in. "Eh?" Inside the box was a glass box. Surveying it more closely, Hitsugaya saw two butterflies inside the glass box. One was blue and the other was orange. "What the hell do you want with these?" He stood back up to his amazing four feet. Hinamori pouted, going back to her old self. "Hitsugaya-kun doesn't understand! These are so beautiful! I want to keep them in my room. I heard you can make wishes on these. And afterwards, you set them free. If your wish comes true, it means at least one of them made it to heaven. Well… maybe Soul Society." Hinamori smiled. "I want to make a wish for someone…"

Hitsugaya Toushirou stood, mesmerized by the butterflies. Hinamori was smiling still, but it looked sad now. The shop keeper had kept silent throughout the entire exchange. Hitsugaya sighed. He grabbed the glass box by the hook on top. "Here. I'll buy this for you." He tossed the shop keeper a few coins. He handed the butterflies to Hinamori. "You owe me Momo." Hinamori hugged the box close to her chest.

"Thank you Hitsugaya-kun!" Her eyes shone with delight as the butterflies flew gracefully in the box. "You're the best!" Laughing, she twirled like a top with the box in hand. Hitsugaya watched all this with a sweat drop. _She hasn't lost her joy at all… _And since she couldn't see where she was going, she crashed head first into a person on the street. Landing on her butt, she rubbed it discreetly. "Ouch." Hinamori checked to see if the box was okay before looking to see who she had bumped into.

Pale green eyes glared down at her. "Ah! Gomen! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!" She bowed respectfully at the red haired shinobi. The shinobi stared at her for a few more minutes before walking around her. However, he didn't get far. He was stopped again, this time by a different person.

"Oi… she apologized didn't she? Why don't you say anything?" Hitsugaya glared with his deep green eyes at the shinobi with pale green eyes. The Sand shinobi glared back at the obstacle blocking his way. "Move." Hitsugaya didn't budge.

"Move."

Hitsugaya frowned. "Say it's okay to Hinamori first. It shouldn't take you long to do that." The shinobi's eye twitched.

"I am on my way to an important meeting. I do not have time to argue with a… child."

It was Hitsugaya's turn to twitch. His glare became even more menacing and the temperature dropped slightly. The Sand shinobi glared back just as fiercely with no reaction. Yes, it was a glare to the death. Hinamori stood awkwardly to the side, not sure of what to do. "Ano…" She hugged her dear butterflies closer. _Maybe it's because I didn't share my cotton candy with him…_

Fortunately for her, the death glare match was interrupted by a loud crash a few shops down. The little captain and tall red head turned to the source. The smoke cleared to reveal a half rundown sushi shop with a cowering owner and waitress. The telltale 'yay ken-chan!' told the two shinigami who had caused all the destruction. Zaraki.

"Say it again. Say the price."

The unfortunate waiter was in tears (complete with snot) under the sword point of Zaraki's lethal zanpakutou. "I-I-I-I-" He was close to peeing in his pants. Zaraki only shoved the sword further to the waiter's face. "Say it." The waiter gulped.

"Ten yen."

Though a captain's job paid pretty well, Zaraki was not one to carry around money everywhere. Especially with a hyper active girl like Yachiru who needs sugar every minute to keep herself alive. Yes it was a sad world indeed for Zaraki. He growled in frustration. How the HELL did they expect him to pay for THAT when all his pay would be gone in no time for Yachiru's candy and such. He didn't want to name all the cute and cuddly things that his wage had paid for.

Meanwhile Yachiru was jumping from ruined wall to soon to be ruined wall. "Go Ken-chan! Go! We'll get free meals! Yay! Then more candy!" Kenpachi was sure he felt a shudder run through him when she said 'candy'. However, he still kept his zanpakutou up to the face of the victim. "We are NOT freakin' paying for the meal. Got it, kid?" The waiter would have done well to agree, but he just didn't. "B-but sir, you need to pay. We don't hand out free meals, e-even to needy people."

Zaraki felt blood rush to his head. He had called him 'needy'. Zaraki Kenpachi was not needy. Hell, Zaraki wasn't anywhere NEAR freakin' needy. Zaraki Kenpachi was a hell of a lot deadly, but he was not needy. He decided he was going to end the life of the miserable waiter once and for all.

Not that Hitsugaya Toushirou was going to let him.

Zaraki's zanpakutou met Hyourinmaru with a clang. The on lookers, if they hadn't already gotten the clue, left the scene immediately, sensing danger. "Zaraki," Hitsugaya said, "What the hell are you doing? Did you forget we are on a political mission? One involving NOT harming everyone in sight?" He slid Hyourinmaru back into his sheath. Zaraki was still swinging his around. Hitsugaya was about to begin again when a certain pink object landed on his spiky hair. "Oof."

From there, Yachiru began her speech.

"Shorty captain's being mean! He was going to get us free food! WHA! It's Momomomomomomomomo! So, hm… Food! He was going to get free food! Then he has more money to buy more candy! Yay! Ken-chan is great! Candy! Candy! Candy! Ken-chan! Candy! Now! Candy! Candy! Candy!" And the speech continued with cries of 'candy'. Hitsugaya was close to suicide.

However, Zaraki was distracted. He observed the red headed shinobi to the side carefully. Then, he grinned. "All right! Someone worthy to fight!" Gaara's non-existent eyebrow shot up.

Before anybody knew it, Zaraki was enveloped in sand. Hitsugaya and Hinamori stared. _What…?_ Zaraki swore colorfully, making Hinamori blush and Yachiru giggle. Gaara remained stoic. Hitsugaya frowned. The stopper on the gourd… it was lying in the dirt now. And the sand was coming from the gourd! There weren't any machines or such that he could see, and they were definitely not puppets. He was controlling sand.

Zaraki continued to swear, this time getting his arm up to swing his zanpakutou. Gaara continued to stare. "Sabaku-"

"Stop this absurdity now."

Everyone turned to see the great Kuchiki Byakuya standing before all the destruction. And he had spoken yet again. He was doing that a lot lately. Zaraki said it was him finally breaking. Hitsugaya thought it was just time for an inferiority complex.

Gaara, slightly annoyed at being interrupted, put Zaraki down. All the sand disappeared into the gourd with a 'swoosh'. Gaara picked up the stopper and pushed it in securely onto the gourd. Byakuya frowned. He then turned his gaze onto Zaraki. It read 'you are a lot of trouble peasant and I wish to kill you now'. Zaraki was unfazed. He snorted. "Whatcha doing here pretty boy?"

Ignoring the blunt insult, Byakuya spoke while searching for something in his sleeve. "We are to be present for the first kidou lesson and," he turned his violet eyes onto Gaara, "I believe you are to be there also." Gaara grunted. Typical of the Hokage to involve him into these things. Gaara left quickly, only leaving a few grains of sand. Meanwhile, his royal highness had finally found what he was looking for. His fat wallet. Dropping a few coins before Zaraki's feet, he left. But not before saying the reason.

"Money for the needy who cannot pay for their own meals."

Hitsugaya smirked. About time. "Let's go Hinamori." He pulled the bewildered vice-captain into his shunpo, allowing her time only to release a surprised yelp. Byakuya had also left with a shunpo. He left before Zaraki's outburst could be heard.

"YOU FREAKIN' BASTARD! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!"

---------

"I suppose I'll introduce your new students."

Hinamori nodded, eager to please. Tsunade gestured with her hand to the rather large imposing group of shinobi.

"All right. Well, the one of the two genin here, Uzumaki Naruto; medic-nin and my assistant Haruno Sakura; Uchiha Sasuke, also a genin; Nara Shikamaru, chuunin; Yamanako Ino, chuunin; Hyuuga Neji, jounin; Rock Lee, jounin and taijutsu specialist; Hyuuga Hinata, chuunin and cousins with Neji; Inuzuka Kiba, chuunin; Aburame Shino, chuunin; and…" she smiled as sand began to whirl beside her, "Sabaku no Gaara, Kazekage."

Hinamori's eyes widened. "He… he's the…"

"The one who doesn't properly acknowledge apologies."

Gaara turned to the shorty captain. "And you're the one who blocks people who are in a hurry." Another glare battle ensued. Tsunade laughed. "An acquaintance already! I'm impressed Gaara!" Gaara glared at Tsunade instead.

"Not an acquaintance. More like a random person from the streets." From Gaara's eyes, Hitsugaya could see a hint of amusement. He resented that. "No, not acquaintance. A rude person who walks around with a giant gourd for no reason." Gaara's eye twitched. He wasn't going to take this. Especially not from a ten year old.

"I'll have you know that this serves a very _special_ purpose. One for killing people easily… kid…" If Gaara had hoped to scare Hitsugaya, he had failed with a capital f. Instead, it only annoyed Hitsugaya and dropped the temperature significantly. The group of shinobi, or at least the normal ones, began to shiver.

"I'll have you know that I'm far older than you could ever hope to be." Gaara seriously doubted that. "You can't be older than ten…"

Big mistake.

"Oh yeah? Well I'm ANCIENT. You should show respect to people older than you. I mean it. Now learn some kidou…. kid…"

Hitsugaya smirked. Who said that he never got the last laugh? Gaara glared at the 10th division captain. "Psst…" Gaara cocked his head slightly to the source of the noise, Naruto. "Gaara… I think it's true… seriously, a ten year old can't possibly know as much as him about… stuff…" Gaara was confused, but he decided to leave it at that. Naruto wasn't that stupid.

Hinamori sighed in relief. She had been afraid that a fight might occur. Now she could teach in peace. "Okay… well, I guess first thing's first, I want you all to-"

CRASH

Dust cleared and there were a few coughs. The dust revealed Rukia standing on top of Ichigo. Ichigo looked uncomfortably close to dead. Rukia hopped off with bunny-like grace. "Sorry we're late. We were having a little lesson on 'manners'. Weren't we Ichigo?" Ichigo slowly raised his face from the cracked concrete. He shook his orange-hair free from dirt.

"Screw you Rukia."

Byakuya's eyes shone. He looked at Ichigo. _I will deal with you later._ Ichigo gulped. Damn it. Then he noticed the unusually frigid temperature. There was only one source of AC that was strong enough to do this. The supplier looked very angry, well more like pissed off.

"Don't. Interrupt. Momo's. Lesson." _Or else you'll be in so many million pieces of ice cubes so help me, Yachiru will mistake you for new candy and eat you. _That was the last part but, for Hinamori's sake, he said none of it. But he was pretty sure the shinigami representative got the message. Ichigo brushed himself off to stand near Naruto. Hinamori smiled cheerfully.

"Let's get started!"

---------

"Well… that's good… but please try to form it into a ball."

Currently, all shinobi were glowing blue with chakra (except Lee). However, they seemed to be unable to manipulate it into any shape. Ichigo was having better luck, but his orb was unstable and… too big.

"What do you see?"

The Uchiha prodigy looked at Neji for an answer. The veins popped up from around his eyes. Neji bit his lip. "Their chakra is completely different from ours. All of their chakra are different colors too. Like that Ichigo. His is pale blue, but Hinamori's is reddish pink. And that other girl's… it's purple." Sasuke frowned, obviously confused. Didn't red chakra mean demon chakra? But he doubted Hinamori was a demon. And purple? What was that all about? Was it dark chakra? He hadn't seen that since the Sound village. However, the chances of the shinigami being a follower of Orochimaru were very slim. There could be only one explanation.

"Different sources of chakra."

Neji nearly gaped at Sasuke. Nearly. "You mean to tell me that their chakra does not come from their bodies?" Sasuke's sharigan turned to Neji.

"Exactly."

The two shinobi looked at Hinamori who was busy helping Ichigo focus better. Neji frowned. If not from their bodies, where could chakra come from? Could they be… borrowing chakra from a spirit? A host? But such a thing was not heard of… at least not here. That could explain why they are able to manipulate it much better. It was not quite as attached to them as the average shinobi's was. That reminded Neji that he needed to try to shape his chakra into a ball. But summoning chakra like that was like performing chidori, or ransengan. It couldn't be done without great effort.

The others were having as much trouble as Sasuke and Neji. Naruto was in deep concentration. Or he looked to be in concentration. He could just be thinking about food. Sakura was frowning, green eyes distressed. Ino was in a similar situation, as was Shikamaru. Hinata was trying again after releasing, Shino stood in blue chakra, while Kiba was stomping around in frustration. Neji wondered who would break first.

Hinamori was completely unaware of this, being almost at a breakthrough point with Ichigo. "Almost Kurosaki-san! Try again! More concentration! The same concentration you use when eating ramen!" Both Neji and Sasuke shook his head. She wasn't noticing anything.

Surprisingly, Shikamaru broke down. Swearing lightly under his breath, he approached Hinamori.

"This is impossible! You're telling us to break off our life energy first, before shaping it. But we can't risk breaking our life energy! We might die if we don't have much control in chakra, like Naruto."

"Hey!"

Hinamori frowned. She hadn't foreseen this. She had guessed it would be easy for everyone. Why would it not be easy for them? It was a basic to all shinigami. Perhaps it was this world? Or they weren't trained in this? Reiatsu was life energy too, in a sense, so it could not be so different from this chakra that they kept talking about…

"I think I have the answer to this."

The kidou instructor snapped out of her thought to face the Uchiha survivor. The deep coal eyes seemed to glint red. "Your chakra… it's from a different force. It's not truly yours." Everyone froze from what they were doing. Ichigo was in total shock? And here he thought the concept of reiatsu was simple enough… Sakura, wide-eyed, looked from Sasuke to Hinamori. "What do you mean Sasuke-kun? Momo-san?" Sasuke looked deep into Hinamori's eyes, daring her to tell him where her reiatsu was from. _But I don't know what he's talking about! What does he mean it's not ours!_

Byakuya and Ukitake glanced at each other. "I suppose we will have to explain, won't we Kuchiki-san?" Byakuya nodded slightly. "Well then, let's go Jyuushiro." Shunsui said.

Sakura looked up startled when she heard someone land beside her. The white-haired captain of the 13th division smiled.

"I believe we can discuss this over a cup of tea."

-----------

"And that is?"

Orochimaru gestured to the scroll in the Sound shinobi's hand. The Sound shinobi bowed before setting it down before the sannin.

"A message, from that… person."

Orochimaru smirked. An answer already? Oh dear… his business partner was hasty. He undid the seal to meet neatly written kanji.

"Oh really…"

**Yes! It's the end of chapter 11!**

**So here are the replies to all u non-signed in ppl!**

**Shippo: No of course u weren't annoying! I love to listen to requests (tho I mite not do all of them lol) thank u for reviewing!**

**Qwerty: yes, hitsuhina is cute, but only if they write it well tho lol. And thank u for reviewing! I hope u liked the chapter!**

**Yaoi hata: thank u so much! Haha, ya I guess the last chapter was pretty funny. Anyways, the akatsuki? Whoa… a LOT of characters lol, well ill try cuz they have to come in SOMETIME (how else would there be itachi?) also, IM SO SORRY FOR CONFUSING U! I meant the NEXT ARC! Not next chapter! IM SO SORRY! All my fault! I give you permission to damn me. Temporarily. Lol. So I hope u liked this chapter!**

**Peter Kim: Yes, im well aware of Ichigo's abilities. And about the vaizards… im not sure if they'll even be in here. Also, because im the author of this fic lol, ill say that whole 'save aizen hitsugaya-kun' never happened lol. Cuz I want a more SANE Hinamori thank u very much.**

**Psycho Demon-Witch: Thank u for reviewing!**

**Raven: Thank u for reviewing!**

**Shelby: Lol, ya poor renji. O well, just makes it more fun for me lol. Thank u for reviewing!**

**Noxname: thank u! Yes, the allies they are talking about r akatsuki and orochimaru. Sorry if u got confused! Thank u for reviewing!**

**Daydream believer: Thank u for reviewing! As for hisagi… well… we'll just see won't we? –wink-**

**And thank u to Multiple Cyrosis for PMing me! (I don't think I want to be leek soup either lol. Ew.) Made me feel special lol. Anyways, I promise more action next chapter and some deep discussion about chakra. If you have any input about chakra, feel free to tell me! And just a heads up, I'm swamped in overdue homework and upcoming tests. So the next chapter might take longer than the usual maybe week or so. SORRY! I'll be right back on the computer typing when I finish! I promise!**

**So wait for it! Now click that review button!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I AM SOOOOO SORRY PEOPLE!!! I KNO I DIDN'T UPDATE FOR LIKE FOREVER!! I'M SO SORRY! I HAVE NO EXCUSE! (except that I was discovering new animes if any of you bother to check my profile. And that the bounto arc is KILLING me cuz it sux. Oh and its my last year as a high school student T.T so sad.) Therefore, I give you permission to kill me. Just don't forget to resurrect me please.**

**Since I haven't written in a while, you might notice some changes of perspective or other in some characters. Just forgive me until I get used to bleach again. So yes, we have discussion on chakra and reiatsu!**

Byakuya was 'sipping' tea at an unbelievable rate. Faster than Naruto could say 'Hokage'. And he was getting ANOTHER refill. His 53rd to be exact.

All the shinobi, and some of the shinigami, watched Byakuya's amazing resistance to hot tea. It was like watching a water show. Without the splashes. Nevertheless, it was, without doubt, fascinating. Who could have guessed that Byakuya was so talented in other areas? Then they all remembered it was BYAKUYA they were talking about.

Ukitake coughed to regain order in the meeting. Everyone turned from Byakuya to the 13th squad captain.

"To start off, we'll talk about our zanpakutous. We gain zanpakutous once we become full shinigamis. It is the basic of being one. Our swords specialize in killing Hollows. You can say that that is what it is designed for."

The shinobi nodded, their curiosity satisfied about the swords.

"However, this is not the only function of zanpakutous. Sometimes, defeating the Hollows require more than just our sword skills. That is why zanpakutous may change form according to shikai and bankai."

Gaara put down his tea. "Shikai and bankai?"

Ukitake nodded. "Yes. They are the first and second transformations a zanpakutou may go through. Each zanpakutou take on different forms and have different abilities. These are determined by the soul inside the sword."

All of the shinobi blinked (except Sasuke who had an 'I knew it' look). Sakura frowned, noticing that shinigamis were getting more and more complex. "What do you mean souls?"

The white-haired captain continued. "Souls. It seems that as souls enter Soul Society, other souls from yet another dimension attach themselves to the new souls. If this soul has the potential, the foreign soul 'lends' more reiatsu to the host soul. This results in a shinigami soul. And the soul that attached itself to the shinigami develops into a zanpakutou."

The room was silent as everyone took the new information in. Shikamaru looked satisfied with the notes he had taken. Shino looked as he always did: comatose.

Meanwhile, Ichigo leaned towards Renji to whisper.

"Oi. Did you know about this? How come no one told me about this?"

Renji turned to Ichigo with distaste. "Of course I did! Everyone knows!" _Not. I didn't know this. Where do they hide all of this information? Oh yeah, with the 12th division captain. But who the hell would go near him?_

Ichigo continued to whisper. "If you knew about this, explain to me."

"Eh?!" Renji stared at Ichigo. _Damn it. I guess this is why they tell you not to lie._

"What? Explain it to me!"

Renji scratched his head. "Uh… Just ask Ukitake-taichou. He'll explain it better. He's the one talking right now anyways."

"But he just finished explaining. And you're closer to me."

"Ask Kuchiki-taichou."

"Byakuya's not going to tell me anything!"

"Shut up than. Ask later."

"Don't tell me to shut up!"

Suddenly, Ichigo clued in. He grinned maliciously and pointed a finger offensively at the poor 6th division vice-captain.

"You don't know. That's why you aren't saying anything. You're stupider than I thought."

Renji's face turned as red as his hair, which was not a pretty sight. He looked like a tomato with a tattoo obsession.

"I never said I knew EVERYTHING. You shouldn't have bothered me!"

"EH? So it's MY fault that you're stupid? What kind of reasoning is that?"

"Kurosaki! Abarai!"

Hitsugaya glared at them. It clearly said 'shut up before I freeze you'. The two shinigamis, defeated before they could even react, sat quietly while Ukitake continued.

"However, that seems to be the extent of our knowledge. We do not know how this process happens nor has anyone seen the reaction."

Being the sharpest, Shikamaru looked at the captain quizzically. "But how do you know this happens than?"

"I'm glad you asked," Ukitake said. "Fortunately, Kurotsuchi-taichou has been able to recreate the process by using one of his previous mod souls while adjusting the atmosphere to be as close as that of the one that a soul would come through before landing in Soul Society. Of course the mod soul was to have been destroyed later."

"Mod souls?"

Shunsui slapped his forehead. "Seems we have a lot to explain don't we Jyuushiro?"

The white haired captain smiled sheepishly and nodded. "Seems we do. I hope you all have the time to stay all day…"

---------

At the end of the day as the sunset, all the shinobi lay around the Hokage's second office, exhausted. Almost everyone lay around the room, trying to still absorb all the information told to them that would be necessary. The exception was Shikamaru, being a 200 IQ genius, Aburame because he always looked like he was passed out, Neji since he found it undignified to 'lie around' in the Hokage's office and Sasuke because… well he was Sasuke.

Contrasting with these, Naruto was half off and half on the large love seat. "Too much…information…help…" His eyes were literally swirls that saw nothing except the overwhelming amount of information told to him. With an 'oof' he fell off and hit the floor with his chin. As soon as that happened, he was up in a flash and running around screaming about his chin. Everyone sweat dropped. _Somehow…he hasn't changed…_

"Hai hai, I'll treat it for you Naruto. Just stop running around."

Soon Sakura had healed his relatively undamaged chin nicely while lecturing him at the same time for his carelessness. Naruto grinned. "Thanks Sakura." Sakura paused.

_But at the same time…he's changed._

"Well anyways, before the idiot decided to make a mockery of himself, did everyone understand? If you didn't, did you at least take notes so that you could review it yourself?" Neji asked.

Everyone answered with a yes. They all took out scrolls filled with writing with a specially set jutsu that would let it self-destruct at any given point. Neji nodded.

"Good. I need to leave for my mission first thing tomorrow morning. So do some of you I believe. It would leave only a few of us to be with the shinigami than, to question or confirm information."

Everyone agreed again. Neji, along with Tenten and Lee, would be leaving tomorrow. So would Kiba, and Shino. Also, Shikamaru and Chouji had separate missions. That would leave Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Gaara. Their group had suddenly shrunk to less than half the size.

To their surprise, Hinata spoke. "Ano… it wouldn't pose t-too much of a problem…w-would it?" She had managed to say it barely stuttering; she had worked on that through the three years that she had been separated from Naruto.

"Well I don't think so… Would it? Unless they want to bombard us with even MORE facts. I mean today was way too intense!" Naruto replied, falling backwards onto the couch as he did.

"It will only decrease the main force should any of those… Hollows attack. After all, we are the only shinobi to know this."

"…I'm leaving."

Everyone looked up to see Gaara calmly walking towards the door, a strange aura coming from his demeanor.

"Eh? But why? We aren't done discussing yet-"

The sand shinobi whirled around, scaring most of the group with his dangerous pale green eyes.

"With the way this meeting is going, it is obvious that you will come to a conclusion that we don't need 12 shinobi for information. Also, I have to go back to my temporary residence to gather the paperwork needed to be done for the Sand."

Some of the shinobi clued in. The strange aura… it was annoyance and irritation focused onto paper.

Before they knew it, the door had shut and the gourd carrying shinobi had disappeared. There was an awkward silence in the room. Then Naruto turned to look at everyone, smiling.

"Is it just me or has he gotten a lot friendlier?"

Everyone sweat dropped. _It's probably just you._

----------

"Hey, look. What's that?"

"I believe we are looking at a perfect specimen of penniless shinobi."

"Ah? Is there such thing as a penniless shinobi?"

"Of course every society needs a homeless person."

"…. I think you've been with Byakuya for too long."

Renji, Rukia, and Ichigo stood, observing an almost lifeless body in sticking out of an alley. Had they been younger, they would have already gotten up and started poking it with sticks. But since they weren't, they were content with staring. Until the hand of the body started twitching.

Renji backed away a bit. "It's moving! I thought he was dead!"

Rukia continued to be fascinated while Ichigo sighed. "Well let's just help the guy. It's nice to do good deeds once in a while, right?"

Rukia and Renji stared. "Since when are you so into helping people?" Ichigo flinched. Was that supposed to insult him? Ichigo's eye twitched as he heard Renji mumbling 'this coming from a guy who beat helpless shinigami in Soul Society'. Yes, it was meant to hurt him. Even proven even more so when Rukia nodded and flashed Ichigo a slightly sadistic smile.

Trying to ignore them, Ichigo approached the 'penniless shinobi'.

"Oi. Old man. Are you alright?"

"noiu suona…"

Ichigo leaned in. "What? I couldn't hear you."

"neein sumda…"

"What?"

Instead of the expected mumble, it was a death grip on Ichigo's ankle. Needless to say, Ichigo screamed. No, not like a little girl, but he did scream.

Ichigo shook his leg furiously but the hand did not come off. He looked to Renji and Rukia desperately. "Hey! Do something! HELP ME!"

Renji and Rukia stood still. "I don't think we know how to handle penniless shinobi…" Renji apologized. Unknown to others, Renji was actually laughing inside his head. _Hahahaha! This is one for the books…_

Ichigo, realizing shaking his leg wouldn't help, had resorted to kicking the body on the head with his other foot. "GODDAMIT! HELP ME! I'm being harassed by a freakin' shinobi or whatever the hell you call them!"

The said harassing shinobi grabbed Ichigo's other foot. Surprised, Ichigo looked down. He barely had any time to react as he was thrown into the air. He landed in the same position as the shinobi had been in. Dazed, Ichigo stared at the pair of feet in front of him. He craned his head as much as he could in the position.

"Kids these days… rudely beating up anyone that gets in their way…"

The stranger wiped his hands of dust. He was tall and had a spiky white hair sticking out of a silver headband he wore. The three shinigami stared.

Getting up, Ichigo glared at the newly rejuvenated shinobi. "Who the hell are you?"

The shinobi seemed to have waited for this as he smirked as he bled his thumb. His hands moved at unbelievable speeds, performing a hand seal. His hand touched the ground, where an archaic circle formed around it. Before they knew it, a cloud of smoke arose. The strange shinobi was riding atop of a sizeable toad. Renji and Rukia 'ooo-ed' and clapped.

"I am Jiraiya! The wonderful sannin that can stop a baby's crying while defeating thousands of enemies!"

"Hey, old man, is this thing fake?" Ichigo poked at the toad below Jiraiya. Renji looked at it also. "There's no way a toad this big could exist, right? It's impossible." All three shinigami mumbled and talked amongst themselves about the toad.

"LISTEN TO ME!"

They looked up, disinterested. Jiraiya coughed, slightly fazed.

"I just need you to tell me if Tsunade is in. Can you at least tell me that?"

Ichigo, Renji, and Rukia blinked. "Tsunade? The Hokage?"

**GAH! SORRY SORRY! I planned to make it an extra long chapter but failed miserably X.X I'M SORRY! And after not updating for a year I bet, I'll treat you to something special. A SIDE STORY THAT PROBABLY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CURRENT PLOT! YAY!! Feel free to yell at me afterwards for this lame chapter. Ja ne**

Gaara's eye twitched uncontrollably. Given a few more seconds, his eye could possibly pop out. Maybe. He breathed in and out. _Calm yourself…_ But that thought was blocked immediately as that _thing_ started making the noise again.

He looked down at it. It was currently hugging his leg while inserting various nicknames where his real name should be. _What the hell is this thing?_

Yes, he had been minding his own business, heading towards his temporary residence in Konaha. But somehow the fates had decided to damn him. God he needed to MAIM something.

"Ne ne, No Eyebrows, do you want to go eat candy? Ken-chan showed me a candy store but then he destroyed the store… oh that might mean that we can't go right? But can we go? I want candy! Candy candy candy candy candy candy…."

Could a five year get away with calling the Kazekage 'No Eyebrows'? Gaara had no answer for that. He continued to walk, a pink-haired five year old hanging off of his leg.

"Ne, why aren't you as big as Ken-chan? The view isn't as good up on your shoulder… No Eyebrows needs to grow grow grow! Drink milk and eat LOTS of candy! Right right? Candy!!"

Gaara breathed. The loud _thing_ was on his shoulder now. And what the hell was 'Ken-chan'? He trudged slowly, realizing his residence was getting closer. At the same time, knowing that he probably wouldn't get this pink thing off in time for him to get in. Why was life so cruel? Perhaps if he talked to it…

"You… You need to get off… now."

It looked at him, practically thrusting its big brown eyes at him. "No Eyebrows can TALK! YAY! Now let's talk about candy! Candy! I love candy! You love candy! Everyone loves CANDY!"

That plan failed miserably. Sighing, he looked as the door came ominously closer.

_Somebody. Help._

And somewhere, in the dark twisted corners of Konoha, Zaraki looked at his shoulder. Needless to say, he went into panic mode, Kenpachi style.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

**Yes… so this lame chapter is finally over. I apologize again for not updating. I'll try not to abandon my fics. REALLY! Sorry sorry. But I will REALLY appreciate it if you review for me. Please? THANK YOU! Again I'M REALLY REALLY SORRY!**


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